


Independent but not alone

by mashedpotatoe



Category: Daredevil (TV), Deadpool - All Media Types, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Peter Parker/Wade Wilson, I Don't Even Know, Identity Issues, Identity Reveal, Its not his fault, M/M, Minor Character Death, Peter is Not Impressed, Some Humor, Wade fucks up, Wade is trying his best, emotional attatchments, foggy is mildly concerned, i dont know what order this is in, i keep editing these tags what is my life, i think, just needed for the plot, matt isn't too pleased, matt just wants everyone to be safe, nelson and murdock is back, peter is smol and will fight anyone, peter/gwen but only needed for the plot, some OCs, sometime after daredevil season 2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-09-02 15:04:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 71,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8672026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mashedpotatoe/pseuds/mashedpotatoe
Summary: “Claire this is—““…thats Spider-Man.” She says dully, and she honestly is surprised at her lack of surprise. ”Since when do you team up with people, Matt?” ORIn which Daredevil and Spider-Man cross paths under dangerous circumstances, and Peter befriends a mercenary who may be a part of said circumstances.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is just some long fic i wrote which originally had no plot and i just sort of made it up as i went along ya know? i dont know. so here i am posting it here because i make really great decisions, i mean, really- ahaah, aha...ha.

“I'm Gonna head home, i’ll finish this up tomorrow.” Matt sighs as he closed up his laptop and screen reader. His friend sat opposite him scoffs.

 

“Yeah right, both of us know this is when your reckless night job starts, _batman_.” 

 

“Batman?” Karen asks, amused as she walks into Matt’s office.

 

Unaware that she was still there, Foggy jumps slightly. Matt chuckles.

 

“He just needs to add a cape and a batmobile. Maybe get his own personal robin.” Foggy smirks, shifting a few papers he was looking through.

 

Matt raises his eyebrows at his friend. Karen just looks plain amused at the two making jokes about Matts alter ego.

 

“Daredevil does not look like batman.”

 

Foggy snickers.

 

“Maybe you should let the sighted be the judge of that, Matt. But you’re right, you look like discount batman.” He ducks a light thump to the back of his head by the other lawyers cane.

 

Matt heads to his apartment, muttering to himself about how his costume is unique and totally not a red batman.

 

 

-

 

 

“Excited heartbeats—children— 3 of them.” Daredevil sensed as he listened to the sounds around the current rooftop he was standing on. Three kids excitedly chasing each other a little too far from what any concerned parent would consider a safe zone at this time of the night. 

 

The street lights of the area were dim, and only a run down drugstore was nearby. _No immediate danger._ Matt thought. Only until the 3 heartbeats were out of range and back into the lighted streets of the neighbourhood did Matt sigh in relief and jump down from his perch. Barely any trouble today, he thought. It was as if todays usual crime had already been dealt with.

 

Shrugging mentally to himself, the blind vigilante was about to call it a night when he sensed a weak heartbeat not far from where he was standing.

 

“Down the street, alleyway--” Matt mumbled to himself. Instinct told him to investigate.

 

Approaching the alleyway, Daredevil climbed up onto the small rooftop. It was his best way of approaching things. He peered down into the alleyway, not that he could see or anything, but it still helped his senses.

  
The weak heartbeat was there, though not dying, just injured. Matt took in the smell of the area, trash from the dumpster, the wet ground from the rain that stopped a few hours ago. The smell of blood, and- spandex? Matt decided to sniff around closer, quietly getting off the roof. He kneeled next to the person, taking in his scents. Then it hit him, the familiar smell of web fluid. Usually left behind at some crime scenes after the newest vigilante Spider-Man had started to show up. Spandex, web fluid, _what was Spider-Man doing in Hells Kitchen?_

 

“You’re not supposed to be here.” Matt declares.

 

  
-

 

Spider-Man jumps. “Wha- Who?” He looked around, his vision slightly blurry, until he focused on the dark figure looming over him. The dark figure stared back, unmoving.

  
“Are you alright?” The man asks, though it seemed like he knew he wasn’t. Peter focuses his eyes more, the man was tall..and there were what looked like actual devil horns on his head. This time he actually jumped, and stuck himself onto the opposite wall.

 

“Who are you?”

 

“Daredevil.” He answered as he walked towards him. “Hello, Spider-Man,” Daredevil says, and oh man, he does not sound pleased. “You’re usually in Queens.” He takes a step towards the wall Spider-Man is sticking to.

 

Spider-Man flinched, and crawled up further. “Daredevil?” A pause. “Oh gosh- Am i in Hell’s Kitchen?” he gasped, his leg was hurting him a lot.

He had heard of the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, around the time he got his powers. Firstly known as the man in the mask, What he also heard was how territorial the vigilante was about Hell’s Kitchen. They had briefly and coincidentally stopped a gang robbery together when he still wore the iconic black mask, but Spider-Man had fled the scene in the excuse of swinging the robbers to the nearest station before they could actually communicate. Sue him, the dude was giving off this angry vibe towards the younger vigilante for accidentally chasing the robbers into his turf.

 

Peter swallowed. “Nice to see you again—is that a new suit?“

 

“Why are you here? Have you brought in any trouble i should know about?”

 

Spider-Man shook his head frantically.

 

“Nope! No trouble, just your friendly neighbourhood—”

 

The older man scowled. “This isn’t your neighbourhood.”

 

Peter blinked at him. No sense of humour. _Okay, yeah i was expecting that._

 

“You’re injured.” Daredevil stated, as if it were a fact and not a question. He extended his hand further to gesture to his injured leg. Spider-Man flinched again, but not letting his wittiness escape him. “Yeah thanks for that, as if it wasn't obvious,”

 

Daredevil put his hand down. “I can help.”

 

Spider-Man squints, not really believing the statement.

 

"So then you can leave."

 

 _Ah, of course._ “Right-uh, you're just. Kind of intimidating in that suit.” Spidey slowly crawled down, his heart rate steadying. “Good.” Daredevil growled, although there was no real threat behind his voice.

 

Spider-Man tries to stand but quickly gave up and slid down the wall again, an ‘oomph’ sound escaping him. Both vigilantes observed each other. Well, as much as Matt could observe without seeing at least.

  
_He doesn't seem like a threat to Hells Kitchen_ , Daredevil thought as he observed him. Spider-Man’s heartbeat, weight, height, he was- a lot younger than him. Matt frowned, _why was someone so young taking up this responsibilty?_  
_I have to make sure he gets out of here_. Spider-Man may not be a threat, but there could be danger lurking for him in this area.

 

There was a moment of silence before Peter spoke. “No hospitals.”

 

“I’m not particularly fond of them either.” Daredevil agrees. “There’s a small drugstore nearby, i can get some things to help your leg.”

 

Spider-Man reluctantly nods, even though he got the ‘get out of my territory’ vibe from him, Daredevil sounded like he genuinely wanted to help, and his spidey-senses weren't alerting him of any threat so far. Heck, they hadn't even woke him when the older vigilante approached him. But then again it could be because of how dizzy and tired he was right now.

 

“Ill be right back, Spider-Man.”

 

 

-

 

 

“You heal very fast.” The devil themed vigilante had returned surprisingly quick, with bandages and something to disinfect any scrapes or bruises. Spider-Man’s leg wound had already stopped bleeding and started to heal.

 

“Do you always state the obvious? And things that aren't obvious?”

 

“Im just observant.” Daredevil said as he ripped a bit of the spandex from Spidey’s suit that was covering the wound. He winced. “You’ve been shot in the leg.”

 

“Its just a graze.” Spidey shrugged. “Some random gang was chasing me. At least it wasn’t the cops this time.”

 

“And tasered..one..two..no four times.”

 

“I’ll heal. Wait a minute- how can you tell?” Spidey asked, intrigued.

 

Daredevil frowned, ignoring the question. “You should be more careful.”

 

“What makes you think I'm not careful?” He sat up.

 

“Hold still.” Daredevil instructed as he started disinfecting the ‘graze’. Peter bit back a painful yelp. Matt raised his brow under his mask. “Just a graze?”

 

Spider-Man huffed in response.

 

“What i mean is,” Daredevil continued, his jaw forming a frown. “You shouldn't be putting yourself in this much danger. Especially when you're this young.”  
Ever since Stick had came into his life, he never felt like a child again. He was trained as a child to fight, and never feel any sort of emotional attachment. Which is why he was strongly against the idea child soldiers or anyone who would force any of this at a young age.

 

Peter looks up to stare at Daredevil. “Excuse me?”

 

Daredevil remained expressionless.

 

“What do you mean by ‘this young’?” Spider-Man pressed. The other man did not reply, still tending to Peters leg.

 

Daredevil actually looked freakishly scary. The devil horns on his suit just made him want to crawl away and hide. Spidey focused his gaze elsewhere, taking in the man’s dark form. Even through he couldn't see most of his face except his jaw, he looked like someone who had been through a lot. _But why wear a freaking Devil suit and run around at night?_ Daredevil had started to interest him more.

  
Sensing the younger vigilantes stare, Matt spoke up. “You want to ask me something.”

 

“Whats with the devil costume?” he snickered, forgetting about his previous question.

 

Matt grumbled. “I didn't make it.”

 

“Okay..” Spidey said, seeing he wouldn't elaborate. “Why do you act like you know so much? When you ask questions, you don’t ask them, you sorta just state them. You did it like, just now.”

 

Matt paused, removing his hand from his leg.

 

“Its not an act.” Matt replied, his voice flat.Then he continued to apply the disinfectant. Peter bit his lip again.

 

“You’re- young.” Daredevil says, again. It’s not a question.“You- said that Mr. Daredevil.” Spider-Man replied, his voice wavering a bit. “Twenty-five year olds aren’t exactly considered old.”

 

“You aren’t twenty-five.” “And how do you know that?” He challenged.

 

“I can tell.” Matt said flatly. “ Also because you just called me ‘mister’.”

 

“Wha-“ Spidey faltered. “That doesn't prove anything!”

 

“Your defensiveness on this topic begs to differ.”

 

Daredevil gently wrapped up Spidey’s leg with the bandage.

 

“Fine you got me, I'm twenty-one. That doesn’t mean i can’t kick ass!”

 

Matt frowned. God help him. “You’re lying.”

 

Spidey protested. “Am not!” He quickly shut his mouth, realising how immature that sounded. He had to be at least younger than twenty, the pitch of his voice, the slight build, rapid heartbeat- even though it was steady relative to before, but its still much more excited compared to Matt’s.

 

“Get out of here. I don’t want you dragging any trouble into my part of the city.” _And it's not safe._

 

“I know what I’m doing!” He insisted. “Wait- I don’t have to explain myself to you!”

 

“You are in my part of the city.” Daredevil reminded him. “Leave. It isn't your responsibility to do this kind of job, you should lay off.“

 

“Don’t tell me to lay off!” Peter yelled, but quickly shut his mouth at the threatening step Daredevil took towards him. Man that guy is scary. “N-no offence Mr.Daredevil, but you don't know me! Or my responsibilities. I thought you, of all people, would understand that.”

 

“Spider-Man.” Daredevil warned.

 

“I’m serious-“

 

“Get. Out.”

  
“Okay! Okay! Just- thanks for the help. But I can handle myself, I’ll get off your turf now.” He skittered away, his leg now healing better.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just so you know, this fic has been sitting in my laptop for like, a year. and i've just started to edit/rewrite it--so if it seems weird and inconsistent in some parts--you know why.

Spider-Man almost let go of his web mid-swing when he heard several high pitched screams that did nothing to calm his already active spider-sense. He briefly stopped on a tall building to massage his throbbing forehead.

 

“Ugh, why couldn’t i have gotten telepathic visions or something- instead of a raging headache when there’s danger!” He complained before jumping off the building and heading direction of what looked like was a break in with about 10 or so armed men.

 

Just outside the building Peter recognized a familiar suited figure in black and red, casually sitting on the side of a roof and watching the action. Peter groaned.

 

_Deadpool._

 

Of course Deadpool was too busy eating -what looked like was a taco-rather than help. Well, it was probably best the mercenary did not interfere. Peter wasn’t entirely sure how much he should trust the man, he was obviously crazy and assassinated bad guys for cash.

 

Deadpool perked up as soon as he spotted Spidey staring at him. He started waving excitedly, beckoning him to come closer.

 

Peter sighed as he swung over, landing lightly next to Deadpool. The merc thrusted his half eaten food towards the boy. “Chimichanga?”

 

“There’s literally a break in happening right in front of you.”

 

“So? Doesn’t mean a guy can’t treat himself to a chimichanga before they kick some bad guy ass.” Deadpool thrusted the chimichanga right in front of Spider-Man’s face this time.

 

 Peter blinked at him behind the mask. 

 

“No? Fine, your loss babycakes.” He said as he took a bite out of it. Peter rolled his eyes. “Can we just get on with this?”

 

“Get on with what sugarplum?” Wade wiggled his eyebrows through his mask, devouring the last bit of the chimichanga.

 

“Stop with the names.” Peter grumbled, crossing his arms. “Uh, I’m assuming you wanted to team up again.”

 

They’d first encountered each other roughly a month ago, when Deadpool decided to help Spider-Man trying to rescue some people from a hostage situation. It would’ve have been near impossible for Peter to do alone, so he was more than grateful for the help from the strange guy. He even would’ve thought he was another hero like himself if he hadn’t seen the merc chop someones head off during the rescue, which happened to be a job that he was being paid for, Peter had found out. Of course that caused an argument to occur right after about morals.

 

Nevertheless they had formed a friendly relationship, seeing as they usually operated in the same areas and would more than occasionally run into each other and team up- since they did in fact work well together- morals aside, Peter admitted.

 

“I thought you’d never ask!” Deadpool clapped his hands together. “Oh em Gee- another team up! Lets do this Spider-babe!”

 

 

-

 

Matt had decided to leave the office early today, hoping he could get a head start on a case- using Daredevil methods.

 

He gently closed the door of Nelson and Murdock behind him as he casually walked out of the building, tapping his cane from side to side to keep up his blind persona. He could just imagine Foggy groaning in annoyance at this, even though they had come to better terms with Matt and his night time activities.

 

Speaking of night time activities, there was someone else that was concerning him on the matter. It had been at least a week since his encounter with Spider-Man.  
After sensing how young he was- especially after sensing how injured he had gotten, Matt had hoped that the wall crawler would take it easy a little.  
But crime in New York never died down, and soon enough the young vigilante was on the news again seen stopping a bank being robbed by at least 20 criminals.

 

_Maybe the criminals need to just take it easy._

 

It didn't help that Spider-Man looked extremely worn out and injured afterwards. His fighting techniques were uncoordinated, sure- he was pretty agile and quick, but his punches were thrown aimlessly (all described to Matt courtesy of Foggy and his amazing commentary) and he was extremely skittish. The only thing that prevented him from getting seriously hurt was what seemed to be his fast reflexes and some say his ‘super strength’. Also the fact the he used webs to get around. _You should totally get yourself some kind of sick transport like that_ , Foggy had suggested. 

 

He was quickly interrupted from his thoughts when he bumped into someone and almost stumbled over.

 

“Hey watch where you’re going- oh sorry.” The man apologised quickly after noticing he was blind. Happened the second time that day.

 

“No worries.” Matt shrugged it off and continued walking home, eager to start patrolling Hells Kitchen.

 

Meanwhile, the man made a B-line for the nearest alley. He quickly pulled out his phone and shot a text to his sister.

**Stalked the guy. Matthew Murdock, attorney at Nelson & Murdock. Blind, lives alone, and is occasionally seen with his law partner.  Should be an easy target, except for his affiliations with Daredevil. **

A reply came back immediately. **Think we should send Wilson?**

The man scoffed at the reply. **Wilson? Hah! He hasn't been active for months.**

 **I think he’d be up for it after some convincing. Meet me at the warehouse.** Came the reply.

 

The man shoved his phone back into his pocket and casually walked out of the alley. Raising a hand, he hailed a taxi and drove to his destination.

 

-

 

 

“We should’ve just barged in and took them out- stealth is boooring.” The merc complained from under Spider-Man, who was perched at the side of a window behind the building.

 

“Shut up.” Spider-Man whispered.

 

“Does anyone look dead to you?”

 

“Uh-“ Spidey peered inside, taking in the situation.

  
There was a family huddled on the sofa, while two men stood by them- guns pointed at their heads. Three of the others were rummaging through drawers and taking what seemed interesting to them. One of them was lying on the floor next to a baseball bat- his chest still heaving up and down- still alive but unconscious.

 

“Theres one guy knocked out, it looks like the family tried to defend themselves- we should've gotten here sooner.” Peter gave Deadpool a pointed look though his mask. The merc raised his arms in surrender.

 

“So that leaves four other dickbags to deal with, since five of them are on this floor.” He said thoughtfully.  The two of them froze after hearing a loud thump a few floors up.

 

“I’ll take this floor, you take the thumpy one on top.” Deadpool instructed, starting to climb up to the window. Spidey didn’t move. “Because theres less guys for me to fight up there?” He growled.

 

“No, because it would take me a really long fucking time and an assload of rope to get all the way up there.” Deadpool explained. “Go! Do your swingy thingy!” He said as he pushed the wall crawler away from the window he was attempting to climb into.

 

“Oh, right.” Spider-Man mentally face palmed at himself before shooting a web upwards and rocketing onto the wall next to the window of the floor in trouble.

 

Instead of going in headfirst, he looked inside, watching them for a moment, straining to hear every word being said.  
They were mostly negotiating who get to keep what while two children and a teenager were being held at gunpoint.

 

He leaps in through the window, taking a quick second to glance at the children and give them an assuring nod. He sees the four armed people, go rigid for a second before relaxing. One of them chuckles. “Its Spider-Man boys!” The shorter of them mock cheered.  
The others sneered at the anarchid.

 

“Well you seem to know who i am, so why don’t you drop your guns and leave these poor kids alone?” Spidey gestured to the children held hostage. All four men started laughing simultaneously, making Peter slightly uncomfortable- thank God he wore a mask, hiding emotions took effort.

 

“Now why would we do that? See we have a pretty good thing going here- and now you've arrived, oh man. Boss will be so thrilled to know we’ve got Spider-Man in our hands.”

 

Peter scoffed at them as he suddenly flipped over the short man, webbing his gun from his hands. He landed next to two bulkier men and began fighting hand to hand with them. He tossed one guy into the other and webbed them together. He then shot out another strand and dragged the shorter closer to him.

 

“Looks like you’re in my hands now.”

 

“Impressive, Spider-Man.” The man said from his pinned position under Spidey. “But what you failed to notice was- we aren't your usual criminals.”

 

A loud gun shot was heard straight after a throbbing pain in the base of Peters skull. He immediately turned around to see another guy who was not there before on the ground- bleeding out. Peter looked to the left to see the shooter- _Deadpool._

 

The red clad mercenary quickly stored his gun away and strides over to Spider-Man who was still straddling the shorter man.

 

“You having fun there babycakes?” He gestured to the guy bleeding on the floor.

 

“We never noticed him get here- good thing i did before he got to you, baby boy. Your welcome by the way.” Deadpool beamed at himself. Stunned by the sudden turn of events, Spider-Man slowly gets off of the shorter man, leaving Deadpool to deal with him.  

 

Deadpool strutted up to the man who had stood up, drawing one of the swords strapped to his back. Peter had to clench his fists to not stop the other from pressing the blade against the short mans throat. “So, whats the deal short guy?”

 

-

 

 

“Did that short fucker say something touchy touchy to you? You look like you just got the sex talk from your great aunt Patricia.” Deadpool commented once they escaped the building, leaving the families in the hands of the police.

 

Still shaken, Peter shook his head. “I didn’t notice that guy-“

 

“None of us did. Baddies are getting smarter!” Wade exclaimed.

 

“I should've sensed him, then webbed him up before- Wade!” Deadpool put his arms up in surrender. “What?”

 

“You- You shot him you moron!” Peter clenched his fists. Wade shrugged. “So? He was about to shoot you, Webs.”

 

“You could’ve warned me or something! You didn’t have to shoot him- he probably has like a family or something- how could you be so-“

 

“Woah woah woah.” Deadpool put a hand on Spider-Mans chest to stop him from pacing. “This conversation was about you failing to listen to your little spidey senses, and I'm supposed to be consoling you, and then we get tacos and ice cream and team up the next day.”

 

“Shut up Wade!” Peter snapped, his voice taking a dangerous tone. “If you're gonna team up with me, you cant kill! I can’t believe you're just okay with just-” He sighs and rubs his forehead in frustration, then looks up at Wade- who was staring at him expressionlessly.   
  
Peter rolled his eyes when he was met with silence. A moment later Deadpool let out a short giggle.

 

“You think this is funny?” Peter challenged.

 

Deadpools laughter got louder. “No um- I didn’t unalive the dickbag.”

 

Peter blinked. “What.”

 

“I shot him in the arm, he's probably still fine and shitting rainbows or something.” Spider-Man stared at the mercenary in disbelief. _“Oh.”_

 

“C’mon, im not a total asshole Spidey. I only fuck up the real baddies.” Spider-Man tilted his head to show his disagreement.

 

“No killing if you're ever gonna team up with me again, got it?” He jabbed a finger at the taller man.

 

“Aw don’t be like that baby boy! I do a great job at no killing!”

 

Peter relaxed when Deadpool gave no further argument.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tryna get these timelines sorted...hey at least I'm not as bad as the flash...shh just go with it

A gang of highly experienced robbers, just what Matt needed to start his patrol.  
Even after dealing with Fisk, there were still many rogues left running around New York doing what they felt like. It looked like these few decided it was more effective to team up, well they weren't wrong.

He’d never admit it, but he did feel pretty alone by himself.  Daredevil had been following their trail for a few hours now. The gang had led him way too far from Hells Kitchen, Matt felt slightly unhappy about leaving behind that place for these imbeciles. There could be other bad things happening that he needed to prevent, not to mention how long it would take for him to get back.  
Foggy was right, he should probably find a better way of transport, his impressing parkour could only get him so far.

 _Im near Queens_ , he deduced. What do they want here? Suddenly the scent trail ended. _Huh, scent trail._ Never repeat that to Foggy, he’d go back to referring him as a ‘catholic puppy ninja’. Matt cringed.

 He slowly came to a stop, _on guess what?_ A roof of course. Matt stands panting from the adrenaline racing through his veins. Bending over, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath as he listened for anything other than the cars and pedestrians around in the busy city.

 

 _Thwip._ he heard.

 

 _Thwip_. Another one.

 

Matt furrowed his brows- him?. He stood up straight again, making his way over to the sound which was coming from a few buildings away.

 

After he’d wondered through the vacant, murky alleys, he eventually came across what was undoubtedly his destination. Nearing the corner of the last building, he could sense at least 5 heartbeats.

 

The group of robbers all stood unsheathing their knives and guns, all looking in the same direction. Matt listened closer, and sensed a figure stuck on the wall above them.

 

“Well hello there boys, burning the midnight oil?” The figure said. That crazy heartbeat- yep. It was Spider-Man.

  

“Back off Spidey, you don’t wanna mess with us!” One of them said, pointing his gun at him. Matt tensed, about to run in and help the kid. But Spider-Man was way ahead of him, and quickly shot a web which snatched the gun straight out of the guys hand.

 

"I'll be taking that.” Daredevil could sense the web-heads grin.

Dumbfounded, the guy wasn't prepared when Spidey jumped down and kicked him in the face, causing the man to fall. _Why didn't he knock him unconscious? Would've been easier._  

 

Deciding Spider-Man could handle this, Daredevil decided to stay hidden and observe.

 

“So, anyone wanna play catch the spider?” The young vigilante joked. A thug in front of him threw a punch, which Spidey dodged, a second punch came from another, which again he dodged. The man on the ground took this chance to kick his legs behind Spider-Man’s knees, causing him to fall back.

 

“Im gonna kill you slowly now, spider.” The man snickered as he and three of the others held the anarchid hero down, while one of them held a knife at his throat.

 

“That seems a bit drastic," Commented the web-head, his tone wry as he relaxed on the ground unfazed by his situation.

 

“Any last words?”

 

“Hmm…how about a joke?” Spider-Man faked a thought.

 

“Knock knock!” The thugs looked at each other confusedly.

 

“Who’s..there?”

 

“Kick!” Spidey exclaimed.

 

“Kick..who?”

 

“Kick you!” Spider-Man kicked the man off of him with both legs, sending the man rocketing into the brick wall behind him, dropping his knife. Spidey then managed to slip out of the other robbers grip and web up the man on the wall.

 

"I know, I know, pretty lame joke even for me." Spidey admitted. ”I just couldn't resist.” he said as he leaped over a thug and kicked him from behind and webbing him to the ground. He then Glanced momentarily in concern to the man he just kicked and webbed up on the wall.

 

 _Strong and very agile._ Matt thought. _But he seems unsure of something._

 

Two of the thugs that were left simultaneously attacked with their long blades from both sides. Spidey leaped up into the air and quickly webbed up the blades before they would run into each other.

 

 _Quick thinking_ , Matt hummed approvingly. Spider-Man was definitely smarter than him, if lacking the experience to apply that intelligence during a fight.

 

“Sorry guys, i’d love to hang out more but I've got things to do, webs to spin, ya know?” Spidey webbed and wrapped the two thugs together, while chuckling to himself.

 

What Spider-Man didn't notice while making smart comments, was the last thug who was also hidden and had creeped up behind him. Matt couldn't help but stop himself from warning him, wanting to know how he would react. His spider sense alarmed him at the last moment, and Spidey dodged a stab to his side, just in the nick of time. It ended up as a cut to his side, ripping a bit of his suit and eliciting a yelp from the vigilante.

 

“Whoa there where'd you come from?” his eyes comically widened through his mask. He looked down at his suit whilst dodging another stab at him.

 

“Dude! This is a new suit!” he complained. The thug had a straight face the whole time, Spidey’s quips weren't affecting him. He pulled out a second knife and started aiming at the spandex clad hero with more ferocity.

 

Matt could hear Spider-Man’s heart start to race. This was no ordinary thug. Matt thought, _Should i help him?_

 

“Hey man, you look pretty attached to those sharp things, mind if i borrow them?” He aimed a web to snatch the knives away, but the man simply pulled them back, breaking the webs. Spidey seemed more jumpy now.

 

He decided to make a little game of it, ducking each attempted stab from the man, making snide remarks every so often. “I mean you have got some of my blood on that one, i’ll just clean it up for ya!” He aimed his web again, successfully snatching it this time and webbing it to the wall. Matt sighed in relief. The man now angered, kicked Spidey in the stomach, sending him crashing into the wall. He then threw his knife at him, aiming for his head. But thankfully Spider-Man jumped out of the way, landing on the mans head and shot webs at his eyes, blinding him.

 

“Whoops now you can’t see!” He flipped down again, and webbed him up too. Leaving the man shouting profanities at him from the ground. “Now thats just rude.” Spidey tsked, and shut him up using his webs once again.

 

 _He really needs to stop depending on those._ Matt frowned. _What if he ran out during a fight?_ By the scent of the web fluid, they definitely weren't organic.

 

-

 

Spider-Man tiredly but victoriously fist bumped the air, and then groaned as his slightly cut open side stretched from the movement.

 

“Ughh i just wanna go home and die.”

 

“Could be arranged.”

 

Peter only just manages not to flinch, putting on an annoyed frown.

 

It can’t be seen, because of his mask, but he knows it comes out in his voice. “Seriously? Sneaking up on me, again? So not cool man. At least the first time i was unconscious! ”

Daredevil’s standing there, mostly hidden in the shadows and face expressionless. “You didn't sense me here.” Matt says tonelessly. “You should be grateful it was me hiding here and not someone with intentions to harm you.”

 

Spider-Man accusingly stares at him in disbelief. “You were here this whole time?! Dude-“

 

“Just passing through.”

 

“What.” He said. “You decided to come to my part of town after you kicked me out of yours? Don’t you have your own city to save and stuff?” Spidey retorted. Screw being intimidated, he’s in my part of the city now.

 

“Actually, yes.” Matt replies. “I was following a possible threat to Hell’s Kitchen which led me here.”

 

“Huh, so much for dragging trouble into another part of the city.” Peter said bitterly. “Good luck with that threat.” He proceeded to shoot a web and swing away when Matt took a few steps forward. “Don’t need it. You've taken care of the threat already.”

 

Spider-Man paused. “What? I did- oh. ohh.” He looked around at the webbed up criminals that he had just fought. “Well…you’re welcome then.” He shrugged at the taller masked man.

 

“You dealt with them well.” A very slight hint of a smile could be seen on Daredevil, that didn’t look like something he did often- he must genuinely mean it. Peter beamed slightly at the praise.

 

 “However you could have easily avoided that.” He gestured to Spider-Mans bleeding side, his tone hardening again.

 

Daredevil started walking away from the building.

 

“W-What?! You cant expect me to dodge everything- my senses aren't that perfect!” The web-head splutters, following him. _Why did he feel the sudden need to prove himself?_

 

“Exactly.” Matt says calmly, still walking along in the shadows. “I expect you to fight back, so that there won’t be many things to dodge.”

 

Spider-Man stares at him confused. “But you saw me- i was fighting.”

 

“Kid.” Matt stops to put a hand on his shoulder. “When i say fighting, I don’t mean self defence. I mean you fight them, so they know not to mess with you.” Peter jumps slightly at the contact from Daredevil, and his hands come to fidget over his hurt side, as if he isn't sure what to do with them.

 

“I-uh. I don’t want to hurt anyone for no reason.” At this, Daredevil sighs, scrubbing his hand under the slight stubble on his chin.

 

“Tough.” He says, then removes his hand from Peters shoulder and starts walking away again. Spider-Man stares at his disappearing form- no, i have to. Its my responsibility. he clenches his fists, determined.

 

“Daredevil, wait!” Matt stops. Peter catches up, his side still killing him. “You know- I’m more of the humiliate and web them up kinda guy. Its kinda my thing. Like beating people up a lot is yours- i mean i do get in physical confrontations by only just webbing people up, but..”  
He wasn’t like Daredevil, who was known to beat the shit out of criminals, and leave them half dead. He remembers his vague team-up with the Devil themed vigilante once, the guy had beaten up the criminals so bad they were practically begging- ever since then Peter had been both in awe and in fear of him.

 

Daredevil turned around to face him. “You depend too much on your webs and snark. And you still expect criminals to take you seriously- and not attempt crime again after you've dealt with them.”

 

“Well-“ Peter paused. “Uhh- I do web up a lot of familiar faces-“ Spider-Man straightened up, understanding what the older vigilante was trying to convey. “I don’t fight them, i don’t get my point across- and so they don’t take me seriously.”

 

“Precisely.” Daredevil says. “If you don’t deal with the small crimes well enough, you’ll have to deal with bigger threats sooner or later.” Peter understands why everyone in Hell’s Kitchen referred to this guy as a devil- they were too scared of him. Heck, even Peter found him to be quite intimidating right now.

 

Peter doesn’t respond, unsure what to say. Matt just exhales through his nose at the lack of response.

 

“You still don’t want to.”

 

“No- no. Mr. Daredevil you don’t understand!” Peter protests. “You said i had to be more careful- right? I am careful.” When Spider-Man fought, he was always cautious about his strength. Killing someone would be easy, if he wasn’t careful. Daredevil looks at him expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate.

  
“I- There’s not just the senses and the sticking to walls thing. I could break someone’s bones just by poking them too hard- o-or i could hurt someone really bad if i just punch them.” He explained, and demonstrated by denting a pipe on the wall of the building with just one hand. “Its hard to control my strength. Im always careful to only use the barest fraction of it.”

 

“Which is why you rely on your other abilities too much.” Matt states in conclusion.  Spider-Man seemed inexperienced with his strength, horrified at it even. Not to mention the fact that each time he is out webbing criminals up he is always excited about it, as if it were all a new experience.

 

“Im assuming- _this— what you can do_ —wasn’t by choice.”

 

“H-How do you mean?” the younger asks.

 

“You were just- ‘normal’ before this, something happened.” Matt gestures to Spider-Man, trying to be as vague as possible as to not make the kid uncomfortable.

 

“Um-“ Peter pauses, thinking of how much to tell this guy. “Uh- yeah i- uh, got these powers, um- not by intention.” He awkwardly scratches the back of his neck.

 

A moment of silence passes.

 

“How long?”

 

“A year.”

 

“So, you’ve just been going through trial and error all this time.”

 

Peter shrugs. “Well yeah, i never officially learned how to—“

“You don’t have experience of technique. Can’t let you patrol when you’ve got no moves.”

  
The older vigilante remembers being as young as the kid and remembers the drive he felt to fight- but he was at least a bit experienced from training with Stick. He can’t keep trying to talk a stubborn teenager out of doing what he wants and has the potential to do. The only thing he could do right now is train him.

 

“Wh—I’ve got moves!” Spidey argued.

 

“I’ve witnessed you fight, Spider-Man. I’ve witnessed you web people up and flee as if you can’t defend your presence somewhere.” _Oh god, he’s referring to our first encounter with the gang robbery._ Peter groaned inwardly.

 

“I wasn't feeling up to it that day, okay!”

 

“Fine. Punch me.”

 

“Wh-what? no-“ with his strength? It was risky.

 

“You’re scared of me.” Matt stated, challenging the teen. Peter’s eyes widen. “Daredevil-“

 

“Take your shot.” He gets into a stance.

 

Spider-Man angrily leaps toward him, attempting to land a blow to the man's jaw. Daredevil simply dodges, and kicks under Spidey’s legs, making him fall on his butt. Spider-Man immediately bounces back up, attempting another punch. Something Matt would’ve taken some time to do as a child, he had to give it to the kid.

 

Daredevil easily moves out of the way at the multiple clumsy punches aimed at him. Although he could feel the strength of the force of them cutting through the air.

 

“No. Im. not! ” He jumps into the air and attempts a kick, which only just manages to land on Matt’s upper arm. Daredevil stumbles back slightly, wincing a bit.

 

“Satisfied?” Spider-Man stands there guiltily, clutching his own side. “Y-You made me angry, i went a bit overboard-“

 

“It’s okay, i meant for that to happen.” He takes a step towards the younger vigilante.

 

“You can use your powers in other ways, so that your strength could be useful instead of a danger.”

 

“Other ways?” Peter blinks.

 

“You have enhanced senses, yes?” Matt asks-more rhetorical than an actual question. Peter nods. “You dislike abusing your powers- your methods aren't similar to mine in terms of ‘dealing’ with criminals.”

 

“You don’t say.” The younger deadpans.

 

“Still, you need experience. And i can help you with using your senses with more control.” Matt says flatly, although the offer seemed genuine.

 

Biting at his lip and rubbing at his hands, Peter opens his mouth to decline. Matt speaks before he can. “You may not want my help, but for the sake of your city- and for your own good, i suggest you accept. You’re no use to anyone dead, its best that a local hero be prepared for anything.”

 

Peter huffs, _is this guy seriously gonna pull the ‘for the sake of your city’ card?_

 

“So like, you wan’t me to be like…your apprentice or somethin’?” Peter crosses his arms. “But I'm Spider-Man! I took down the lizard!”

 

Matt is silent.

 

“The lizard!” Peter emphasises.

 

“Humour me.” Daredevil says.

 

“Ugh— _Fine_.” he says instead and blinks at his words. _Did he mean to say that?_ “But only for my city—and im not a sidekick.” He jabs a finger in his direction.

 

Daredevil smiles faintly at that. They shared a common trait, protectiveness of their city, and leadership.

 

“Good attitude. Meet me in Hell’s Kitchen tomorrow evening.”

 

“Great.” Peter pretended to sound defeated, but then perked up. “Will there be snacks?”

 

He quickly swung away at the low growl of annoyance Daredevil emitted after that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *scraming interanlly*
> 
> i cnat spel 4 shet

Its already dark when Peter lands on the first tall rooftop in Hell’s Kitchen. He crouches down at the edge, staring down at the cars passing by. How will he find Daredevil here? He never mentioned a specific place to meet.

_“Well this is just great.”_ Peter thought aloud. “Maybe I should just head back-“

 

“Spider-Man.” A voice said, quite far way by the faintness of it. Spider-Man turned around in the direction of the voice.

A dark figure stood stiffly a few rooftops away, calling out his name again. _Daredevil!_ Peter thought. _How did he find me?_

 

The boy quickly jumps off the rooftop and web slings onto the next- only to realise that Daredevil has moved ahead already. _Does he want me to follow him somewhere?_ The older vigilante directs Peter with a slight hand motion to another rooftop, he then slips into the shadows of the alleyway below. 

 

It’s too dark to follow his progress visually, Peter realises after trying to squint in the darkness- instead he tries listening for his footsteps and sounds around Daredevils movement. _Why can't he just roof hop where i can see him or something? This is annoying._ The young vigilante groans to himself.

 

A good 5 minutes of Daredevil sneaking around and Spider-Man frantically trying to catch up, the younger of the two had started to loose track of him. 

Sensing Spider-Man’s confusion and rapid heartbeat, Matt came to a halt under a lamp post where he could be seen.

 

“Im here.” he says simply, not bothering to raise his head to look at Spider-Man who is clinging to said lamp post.

 

Catching his breath, Spidey starts flailing his arms around in accusation. “Y-You!”

 

“Me.” Matt replies.

 

“Dude! What is with you and creeping around in dark alleyways?” Peter flails. “I may have heightened senses- but you're confusing my poor spider eyes!”

 

“You _can_ sense people, though you didn't sense me observing you fight the other day.” Matt says mildly and notices the way Spider-Man tenses and his heartbeat picks up. “Thought so. You rely on sight too much, it’s preventing you from using your other senses to their full extent.”

 

“Well jeez- I gotta rely on something man!” Peter protested. “My senses work just fine- but for some reason they just don’t work when you're there.” Matt swore he could sense the kid pouting behind his mask.

 

Daredevil expressionlessly ‘stared’ at the teen. “Why not.” _How can he make a genuine question sound like a statement?_ Peter asked himself.

 

Spider-Man stared back blankly. “I-uh. I dunno.” He cleared his throat awkwardly and muttered “Its- I think its ‘cause you aren’t a threat to me.”

 

Daredevil holds his ‘stare’ for a moment, then scowls. He then glares at the younger vigilante as threateningly as he could behind the mask.

 

Spidey chuckles nervously. “Don’t worry-devil dude, you still scare the crap out of me in that suit.”

 

Matt frowns at the nickname. Spider-Man jumps down from the lamp post to stand in front of him.

 

“So when do we start?” Peter asks- bouncing on his toes eagerly. 

 

“Start?” _Was that a question, Daredevil?_

 

Peter’s bounces get slower. “Um.. You were going to teach me how to kick ass?” He reminds him.

 

Daredevil remains motionless. “You sound unsure.” He stated. “We’ve already ‘started’. Our little chase was your first test.”

 

Spidey gaped at him. “That was a test?!” He whined, flailing his arms around again.

 

“Was there something else you had in mind?”

 

“No i just thought- wait, so did i pass?” He asked, bouncing again. _Man this kid has energy._

Matt didn’t even pretend to think about it. “No.” 

 

“What! Why not?” Spider-Man whined more. “I caught up with you- i just couldn’t see you!” 

 

“Not good enough.”

 

“What is this, high school?”

 

“Not at all.” Matt stepped closer threateningly. Spiderman clicked his mouth closed, body jerking away from him.

 

Peter shrunk under his gaze. “Y-You don’t approve of me being Spider-Man. I get it.” _He’s pouting again, Matt sensed, what do i do with a pouting vigilante?_

 

Traffic could still be heard in the distance even though they were in a quieter area with barely any people around. There was a thick silence before Matt spoke.

 

“Close your eyes.”

 

Peter tilted his head slightly. “Wha-“

 

“You have to know how to use your senses, especially when you don’t have one of them. It will only make you better at what you do.” _And safer_ , Matt thought.

 

Peter blinks, still not quite seeing what the man was getting at.

 

“Eyes, close them.” 

 

Spider-Man stared back at him, eyes wide behind his mask.

 

“Do it already.” Matt warned. “I know you still have them open.”

 

Peter quickly shut them. “Dude- that is scary. Im literally wearing a mask, how do you know that?!”

 

Daredevil ignored him. “I want you to focus- calm your breathing.“

 

“Are you gonna say, ‘take a deep breath in, take a deep breath out, and then listen for the distant cries of your ancestors’ or something like that?” Spidey quipped.

 

“Quietly.” Daredevil growled. 

 

“But i don’t know what you want me to focus on!” Another whine. Matt fought a serious urge to punch this kid in the face. 

 

“ _Spider-Man._ ” Peter couldn’t help but bounce on his toes, his heart rate quickening the more he tried to calm himself. Matt groaned to himself. “Calm down.”

 

Peter let his shoulders sag a little, but he couldn't seem to stop bouncing around. 

 

“Your heart rate is unsteady.” Matt said calmly, even though he grew impatient. “I would suggest inhaling and exhaling- it will only help you focus better.” 

 

Trying not to make a smart comment about that, Peter tried steadying his breathing. _He couldn't help it, the sounds around him were overwhelming._

 

His heart rate only evened out a bit, before Peter gave up and threw his hands in the air, eyes wide open. “I can’t!”

 

“You _can_.” Daredevil curled his hands into fists. “You just don’t want to.”

 

“Why do i have to?“

 

“You’re scared of closing your eyes because you rely too much on your sight.”

 

“But whats the point of-“

 

“Try again. Close your eyes, and listen to your surroundings.”

 

“You sound like a yoga instructor.”

 

_“Spider-Man.”_

 

_“Daredevil.”_

 

This time Matt did not hold back his punch. Spider-Man stumbled backwards, avoiding it at the last minute. 

 

“What-“

 

“Slow reaction time.” Daredevil growled. “I told you to focus- use your senses.” He stepped towards the boy angrily.

 

“What is with you and senses!“ The teen yells back at him.

 

“You’re too young to take this seriously.”

 

“No- You don’t bring my age into this!”

 

“Shut up.” Daredevil growls and crosses his arms.

 

“Y-You shut up!” Peter retorted, then winced, excepting the taller man to come at him again.

 

Instead Daredevil just sighed in what looked like was exasperation. 

 

“I was distracted.“ Peter said simply.

 

“Distracted?” Matt says, more rhetorical than geniune. He sighs again. “Kid, you don’t have the luxury to be distracted. One mess up- thats all it takes- and you could wind up _dead_.” His voice falters a little.

 

Peter stares at him. Was that - _concern?_

 

“Get back home.” Daredevil says through gritted teeth.

 

When Peter didn’t budge, Daredevil clenched his fists again and made a move to scare him off, Peter bounced to his feet and edged backwards up the brick wall behind him.

 

“Why do you think I'm so incapable of doing things myself?” He said, almost a whisper.

 

At this, Daredevil’s voice lost some of its raspiness. “I never thought that.” He tilts his head slightly at the wall crawler. “But, do _you_ think so?”

 

-

 

Spider-Man makes it across the bridge into Queens before he lands- no, collapses onto a low rooftop.

He tore off his mask and bunched it up in his hands in frustration.

 

“I felt the punch coming- i just didn't feel the need to _react_ as quick.” Peter said aloud in realisation. He was so used to just taking a beating, an insult, a few degrading comments from Jameson- that he hadn’t actually considered that this wasn’t the same thing. He was actually out at night, fighting crime- people could kill him, and they won’t hold back like Daredevil- who was merely trying to train him.

 

“Man, i messed up.”

 

Daredevil was right, this isn’t high school. He was only trying to get him ready to face real threats, even though his methods seemed harsh. 

 

_Come on you coward._ Peter thought angrily to himself. _I have to do this, its my responsibility._

 

He loosened the hold on his mask, letting his shoulders relax. Peter closed his eyes and slowly let out a shaky breath.  Then, taking in deep breath, Peter attempted to center himself. 

 

Over his steady breathing, the young vigilante could hear the distant sounds of cars honking, people bustling about- the smell of hot dogs from a nearby hotdog stand wafted over to him- _focus Peter._

 

Ignoring his grumbling stomach, he listened further, vaguely hearing the chatter of people nearby, music blaring from a car passing his perch at a fast speed- until- he heard a faint cry- some sort of sound of distress, his spider sense had started to pound lightly at the back of his mind.

 

Peter winced in pain, the sounds becoming all too much with the pain in the back of his head. He lay curled up for a short moment before jumping up again, someone was in danger- he heard it!

 

Pulling on his mask again, he shot a web to the opposite building before leaping off the roof. 

 

-

 

Spider-Man lands gracefully onto the pavement where he sees two men cornering a short, mousy looking woman. The woman was clutching her purse and trying to get away but the larger men kept blocking her way.

 

“Gentlemen, is that a way to treat a woman? You should be ashamed of yourselves.” Spidey said arms crossed as he trotted over to them.

 

The men seemed slightly surprised at his appearance and looked at each other as if wondering what to do. Peter smirked under the mask, _people do get scared of me!_

 

The short woman took this chance to run away, despite the fact that she was wearing tall heels that did nothing to help her height. How people did that was beyond Peter.

 

“So, you gonna tell me what you were trying to do? Or do i have to take you on a little web sling to meet some nice cops?” Peter quipped. Ha, _nice_ cops.

 

The surprise on the men’s faces seemed to shift into what looked like smugness, Peter swore he could hear them chuckling to themselves. 

 

“Look what we have here, it’s the Spider guy!” The thicker looking man says, rolling his sleeves up.

 

The scarily thinner man stepped closer- Peter noticed he was wearing some sort of ninja gear, _wait what?_ “You have no idea what you just walked into bug-boy.”

 

Spidey quickly jumped up and attached himself onto the wall slightly above them. “You’re right! I have no clue, care to enlighten me?” 

 

The two men looked up at him, the smugness in their expressions still evident. They weren’t armed, Peter noticed after looking down at them. So they couldn’t hurt him while he was away from their reach.

 

A sharp pain at the back of his mind told him to _move,_ but why-

 

Spider-Man was knocked off his perch and onto the pavement from a particularly high kick from the thinner man. His vision was blurry for a moment as he jumped up into a fighting stance- only to be sent crashing into the brick wall from another fierce kick to his chest this time.

 

_I did not see that coming_ , Peter groaned to himself. _But i totally sensed it didn’t i? Damn it._

 

Quickly recovering from the hit, Spider-Man ducks another kick then flips over the thin man- webbing his eyes. Expecting the man to be struggling to get the webbing off, Peter doesn’t notice the punch aimed for is jaw. He tumbles backward in shock and quickly webs the mans arms and legs to the wall. _Does everyone here but me know how to fight without their sight?_ (Heh, that rhymed)

 

The pain at the back of his mind resurfaces and he looks to his left to see the thicker man barreling towards him. He’s large, and Peter is much slimmer and faster than him. He ducks under him, slamming his elbow into the man’s back. Then lands a blow to the man's jaw, watching as he stumbles back before balancing himself, and then grins scarily at Spider-Man. 

 

“Like my friend said, you have no idea what you just walked into.”

 

Spidey tilted his head. “Well technically i web slung into this situation, since ya know, Spider-Man and all-“

 

The man aimed a punch to his stomach, Peter quickly jumped out of the way and stuck himself to the wall again. “Dude i swear, if you turn out to be a ninja who can jump kick me off this wall i will sue someone.”

 

“Spidey, you don’t even know half of it.” The man reached into his pocket and flung his arm at the anarchid. Spider-Man gasped as his spider-sense told him to move and he jumped down, a sharp pain slicing into the top of his shoulder where one small knife had dug in.

Peter looked up to see several small knives embedded into the wall. _Where did he have those? I didn’t see them before._

 

The man chuckled, walking towards him. “You don’t know the price my employer will pay- for your head.” He pushed Peter against the wall. “I’ll be rich, Spider.”

 

Spider-Man struggled against the man’s grip. “Sorry- i don’t donate to that charity.” He quipped, only making him receive another punch to the jaw.

 

“You’re not the only one, bug-boy. My employer will pay me well- for any guy i kill trying to wear superhero tights, and anyone that has anything to do with them! We’re about to send one of our best to go slice and dice a freakin’ blind guy. Just because he was working with the one and only Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.” The man explained cheerfully as he strangled the spandex clad teen.

Peter’s eyes widened under the mask at the mention of Daredevil. _I have to warn him._ He thought.

 

“W-why are you targeting vigilantes?” Spider-Man choked under the man’s hold.

 

“Who cares? Im just in it for the money. Im gonna kill you, and everyone you love, Spider.” The man smirked, taking the knife out of Peter’s shoulder and raising it up to stab him.

 

Realising he couldn't fight this guy right now, Spider-Man desperately thought for a way to escape. He quickly kicked the man in the stomach and back flipped over his head. 

 

“Not today man. Not ever.” Spidey said as he shot a web and swung away while dodging the several knives being thrown at him.

 

-

 

Spider-Man frantically swung towards his home. He could warn Daredevil later, first he had to make sure no one had gone after Aunt May. Peter couldn’t bear to loose her- he had already lost Uncle Ben and she was all the family he had left.

 

_Speaking of Aunt May,_ Peter skidded to a halt once he reached the rooftop of his house. He opened his phone _, Oh no- 5 missed calls._

 

Quickly changing into his civilian clothes, he jumped down and quietly snuck into his room through the window. Big mistake, Aunt May was sat on his bed- arms crossed and staring right at him. _At least she's okay,_ He thought.

 

“A-Aunt May!” He exclaimed, a little too cheerily. “You didn’t have to wait up for me.”

 

Aunt May’s face melted into worry. “Peter, where were you? I called you several times and you didn’t pick up. Do you know how worried i was?”

 

“I’m fine Aunt May! I was just running a bit late.” He insisted, closing the open window behind him and setting his backpack down.

 

“Running late from what, Peter?” Her tone clearly not buying any of his excuses. “It’s 3am.” Peter panicked for a moment.

 

“I-uh.” He stratched the back of his head. “I’ve started taking fight- uh i mean boxing lessons. They’re a bit far away so-”

 

“ _Boxing?_ ” Aunt May gave him the most disbelieving look she could produce. “Is that where those are coming from?” She gestured towards her nephew’s face, which was decorated with fresh bruises along his jaw and cheekbone.

 

“Uh ye- No! Wait yes, Aunt May-“ He falters, his aunt’s face even more worried. “It’s not like that ‘May. Everything’s fine- I swear.” Peter insisted, placing a hand on her shoulder in reassurance. 

 

“Who is giving you these lessons?”

 

_What is Daredevil to me?_   
“A- A friend, well acquaintance-sort of.” 

 

“Is this person charging you? Peter you know we don’t have much-“

 

“No! No, he wants to help me.” Peter assures her.  “He means well.”

 

Aunt May looks at her nephew in concern; beaten and bruised, several dark circles under his eyes- he has to stop coming home this late. What about his anonymous friends? Where was he getting hurt this bad? Who dare lay a hand on her boy-

 

“Aunt May, Im okay. You should go to bed now, please don’t strain yourself.” Peter insisted, leading her out of his room.

 

“Oh _Peter_.” She cried, hugging his lithe form. “I worry about you so much.”

 

_I know, but i have to do this_. Peter sighed to himself. _Its my responsibility._

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spoderman goes to devildude asking for help. and then eats tacos with pool of death.  
> y'know i wish i could've put deadpools thought boxes in this fic but i just dont know how to make it fit. also because I'm lazy.

“No,” Daredevil says.

 

“It won’t happen again!” Peter pleads in response. He had swung straight to Hells Kitchen as soon as he got the chance- which was a day after reassuring his aunt and getting some well needed sleep. All he’d had to do was sit on a roof top before the Devil had showed up. How he knew Spider-Man was there was beyond him- _he probably has some sort of super senses too_. Peter assumed.

 

“No.” 

 

“Please.” Peter sighs. “I- I need your help, Daredevil.” He says, still slightly out of breath after web slinging for so long.

 

The older man crosses his arms. “I haven't seen you in two days.”

 

Peter awkwardly kicks a tiny pebble off the roof. “Well this isn’t exactly a very welcoming place, you being the guard dog and all—“

 

“Something happened.” Daredevil deduces, ignoring the teen’s rambling. Spider-Man flinches.

 

“I-“

 

“Tell me what happened.” He orders, his tone soft but firm enough to get Peter to start talking.

 

They sit on the roof as Spider-Man hurriedly explains what happened that night- including details about how experienced these criminals were and how he managed to get out of it.

Matt listens carefully, his expression changing from interest, to concern- to what seemed like anger, or determination.

 

“Whoever this employer is- he’s out for vigilantes. Which put you and me on the target list.” Peter finally finishes. “And my au- family member. And yours! If you have any.” He says, heart rate quickening.

 

“What about mine?”

 

“I don’t know- he said they're sending a mercenary after a blind guy that you may know? It was so strange-“

 

“Was this the first time you encountered them?”

 

Peter pauses. “Um- no actually. I’m not sure if they were the same guys, but about a week ago i stopped about 10 of them who broke into a building…they seemed weirdly happy about my presence and how they were gonna take me to their leader or whatever. And i didn’t even notice an 11th guy coming in. He almost shot me-“

 

Daredevil visibly tenses. “You took all of them on your own?”

 

“Huh? N-no! I had a..friend with me.” Peter raises his hands in defence. “I’m fine! Nothing happened really- look, can we just focus on this?”

 

Matt immediately gets into planning mode, stands up and starts pacing the roof. “Okay.” He says, pausing.

 

“Okay…?”

 

“Obviously we need to be on high alert. There are no time for _distractions._ ” 

 

“Right..” Peter says sheepishly.

 

“I don’t like this, but—” Daredevil starts. “You will come here, when i tell you. Hells Kitchen is a good place to start your training, a lot of crime to deal with.” _Also where i can keep an eye on you and the people i need to protect._

 

“What? You serious? I get a free pass into your territory?”

 

Daredevil frowns. “As long as you don’t bring in trouble—“

 

Spider-Man jumps up. “What about- my family member. How will i keep her safe if I'm here?”

 

 _Family member, not members. He’s lost people._ Matt thinks.

 

“Don’t you think you’ll be able to protect them better when you are more experienced?”

 

“I-“ Peter reluctantly nods, shoulders slumping. “I don’t like this.”

 

Matt can practically feel the fear coming from the younger vigilante. He says nothing though.

 

“You gotta help me Daredevil.” He pleads again.

He hated admitting this outloud, but he could use the help. In the form of training— tactics—basic common sense. Not that Peter wasn't smart— he’d consider himself quite near a genius intellectually. But he just wasn’t very good with instinct, or dealing with actual real life situations—before and after his powers. 

 

Peter already messed up before. _Uncle Ben, Gwen’s father. He couldn’t let it happen again._

 

Daredevil tilts his head. “You need to breathe.”

 

Peter nods shakily. “I just- whenever i get sort of, overwhelmed or something, my senses- they go haywire. And i cant focus like you wanted. And it _hurts, and i cant take it.” And its happening right now._

 

Daredevil steps back as the teen jerks away. _It must be a sensory thing,_ Matt considered. _Its still new to him._

He remembers how he felt like pulling his hair out from all the sounds that would never stop, his senses could become too much sometimes and took him a long time to get used too. Even now they could become too much, but he had learned how to tune them out at times.

 

“I- gotta go. I have class.” Spider-Man mutters as he collects what seems like a backpack from the side of the roof.

 

“You’re a student.” Matt states. 

 

“Uh- yeah I'm-“ Peter stops, he was about to say he goes to college but Daredevil seemed to know whenever he was lying. “Im getting late. I’ll meet you after?”

 

“Its four in the morning.”

 

“Yeah, and i’ve got class- in _Queens_.”

 

Daredevil grumbles. “Ive got work. But get here in daylight whenever you do, I’ll come find you.” He proceeds to jump off the roof when he turns around and says “Be careful Spider-Man.”

 

-

 

Peter was sitting down on the roof of a building he was quite familiar with- notebook open as he tried to complete some of his school work. It was an isolated area, where he would come often in between vigilante-ing to do some work.

 

 He jumped when he heard footsteps behind him.

 

“Heeeeey Baby Boy!” A voice says. Deadpool again. Peter hoped he wasn’t stalking him. He still doesn’t know much about Spider-Man, not that the web-head knows of, and he'd like it to stay that way.

 

Spider-Man faked an annoyed groan as the masked mercenary skipped across the roof and plopped himself right beside him, dumping several bags of warm food- Mexican food on his lap. _Not tacos again._

 

He had kind of wanted to be alone for a while after another agonising day at school, followed by him trying to stop a car thief on a highway that led to a dozen cars crashing into each other like dominoes- does anyone drive carefully here? Obviously the police and Jameson were going to find a way to blame Spider-Man for the whole mess. He had had enough of people pestering him for today—  But having Deadpool as company didn't sound _so_ bad. Not that he’d tell him that. Sue him, the man had a comical air to him, Peter couldn’t help but smile every so often at his jokes, and he could do with some cheering up.

 

“How’s my favourite spider doing? Doing some stalking on the roof? Can i join in too?”

 

“Whatever.”

 

Deadpool nudged him. “You sound like a teenage girl on her-“ He stopped after sensing the look Spidey was giving him under his mask.  “Something on your mind?”

 

Spidey shrugged.

 

“Mhmmm somethings definitely on your mind.” He said while unwrapping a taco and handing it to him. “C’mon Spidey! Have a taco.”  
  
“Im not really hungry.” Peter said pushing it away, Wade kept staring at him, expectantly. “Im _fine_.”  
  
Deadpool scoffed. “The biggest lie ever fucking told.”

 “I’ve just sort of had a long day.”

 

“Just like this looong ass chimichanga i ordered.”

 

Spider-Man rolled his eyes and laughed lightly. “Why do you always seem to find me whenever you have bags of food with you.” 

 

“What can i say, the universe wants me to feed you.” Deadpool grins. “And-“  
  
Spidey turns to him. “What?”

 

Deadpool perks up. “I enjoy our roof chats.” He mutters something to himself then, and looks up at the vigilante again. “Im working on it.”  
  
“Working on-?”

 

“On that no un-aliving thing?” he took another bite of his taco. “Haven’t taken a job in _months_.”

Spider-Man stared at him, surprised. “Wait- really?”  
  
Deadpool nodded. “Well at least i think so..” 

 

“ _Wade._ ” 

 

“Well i mean there may have been that douche at the coffee shop-“

 

“Wade!”

 

“And the the total dickhead who kept stalking that girl-“

 

“Seriously!”

 

“Jeez Spidey i don’t know, maybe get me a fucking calendar for christmas then ill tell you my mercenary schedule.” 

 

“Oh yeah sure, then we can plan our roof hang outs too.” Spider-Man retorted. “You know on second thought, i’ll take that taco.”

 

“Hah! Knew you were hungry!”

 

Kind of sounded weird, or even disgusting actually to be sharing tacos with a gun for hire. But that was just Peters morals screaming at him. His spider-sense was completely silent around the mercenary, and never even alerted him of his presence. Which is why Spider-Man didn’t see him as much of a threat at all. As much as Peter tried to hate him since the start, he just couldn’t- he had even started to consider Deadpool as his friend. _A good friend._  
  
Both of them ate in a comfortable silence, before Deadpool spoke up.

“I mean who wouldn't wanna stop killing for a fine ass like _Spider-Man’s_.” 

 

“Wade!” He feigned annoyance. 

 

“You really like saying my name dontcha?” He grinned. “What if i try and make you _scream_ it-“

 

“Oookay its time to shut up NOW.”

 

-

 

“This freaking child.” Matt murmurs to himself, shaking his head as he heard the news headline from the tv in Josie’s. According to Foggy it was replaying a clip of Spider-Man trying to stop about 12 to 13 cars falling off a bridge with his webs and arms entirely. Discussion could be heard in the bar about the wall crawler.

 

“‘This freaking child’ is stealing your spotlight, _Daredevil_.” Foggy said, noticing the topic of interest around them as well. “Just yesterday he was an urban myth, hell even i doubted he existed until i found out about you.”

 

“Wanna be a little louder Fog?” Matt scowled, although he was a little amused. “He won’t have a spotlight soon if he continues to be this reckless.”

“Neither will you.” His partner retorted.

 

Matt smirked a little, fiddling with his drink. “Touché.”

“Although i do know what I'm doing—most of the time.”

 

“And you’re suggesting he doesn’t? You haven’t even met the guy—“ Foggy paused at the sheepish smile displayed on his friends face. “Don’t tell me you've met Spider-Man and you didn’t tell me.”

 

“Sorry.” Matt shrugged. “But technically _I_ haven’t. _Daredevil_ has.”

 

“You’re a piece of shit Murdock.”

 

“You love me.”

 

Foggy chuckled and chucked a napkin at his partners grinning face.. “So, what’s he like? Is he actually a spider under there? Because those things are nasty—do i need to be worried?”

 

“He’s human, Foggy. Possibly a bit enhanced, but human.”

 

“Phew. i was gonna advise you to keep a can of bug spray when you approach him.” Foggy joked. “What was Daredevil doing with him anyway? Are you two going to form a cult to protect New York while wearing red spandex?”

 

Matt shook his head. “We teamed up briefly a while ago, and then i found him injured at one point— but i’ve started too keep an eye on him.”

 

Foggy raised a brow. Matt sensed his confusion.

 

“He’s young. Inexperienced.” He exhaled. “But he’s also determined, strong—And most of all, stubborn.”

 

“Sounds a lot like you.” Foggy looks pointedly at him.

 

“Im experienced.”

 

“You’re also stubborn as _hell_. No pun intended.”

 

Matt rolled his eyes behind his glasses, as he felt for his watch.

“Speaking of Spider-Man, i have to go.”

 

“What? Seriously? You’re going to tell me about this later buddy.” Foggy warned.

 

Matt smiled slightly and then proceeded to leave. “Do i have a choice?”

 

The look that Matt could sense on his friends face told him no, he didn’t.

 

 

-

 

 

“-and i kicked that good for nothing motherfucker in the nuts! hah, you shoulda seen his face spidey!” 

 

“Thats-i can’t even be mad at you for that right now.” Spider-Man choked out in between bouts of laughter.  
  
“Yeah, and then i threw him out the window!” Deadpool exclaimed, hands in the air.  
  
“You threw him out the-bAHAH” Spidey couldn't help himself, this story was hilarious. “No! no no no thats bad! You dont throw people out of the window!” He tried to be serious but the wide grin on his face from laughing so hard said otherwise. 

 

“But you throw people out the window! I’ve seen you to do it!”

 

“Yes but then i catch them with a web!” 

 

They had peacefully eaten their tacos together when Deadpool decided to share an interesting story about a job he taken once. It was so funny that Peter couldn't breathe while laughing so Wade had to convince him to pull his mask up to his nose. 

 

“You have a cute jaw, Baby Boy.” Deadpool hummed.

 

A sudden blush creeped onto Peters face. He ducked his head, still laughing slightly and pulled his mask back down.

 

“Aww Webs! You must look so _freakishly_ cute under that mask, why don't you take it off-“

 

“Nuh uh.”

 

“Pleeease-“

 

“ _Nope_.”

 

“Why not? Are you trying to hide your multiple spidery eyes?”

 

“I do not have spidery eyes! And please, you like my mask- seeing as you copied it.”

 

Deadpool mock gasps. “No way! biatch, you copied me!”

 

“I’ve been doing this way before you!”

 

“Say what you want Spidey. You’re just a hater.” He jabs a finger in his direction. “Though I gotta say, you pull off red well.” He reaches for the web heads mask.  
  
“Deadpool!” Peter hisses.

 

“Ugh finee- oh!” Wade jumped as his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled out his phone and opened the text. 

 

“Whats wrong?” Spider-Man asked, a hint of worry in his voice. _How does he know somethings wrong?_ _Probably his little spidery senses._ Deadpool thought.

  
“Oh its nothing Sweettums, just an old buddy pestering me is all.” Wade faked a smile, and then also proceeded to pull his half pushed up mask down.

 

“ _An old buddy?_ ” A tone of uneasiness in his voice now there.

 

Wade stood up quickly, Spider-Man’s gaze following him. 

“Baby Boy! Its not like that!” He waved his hands around, backing away.

 

“Don’t call me that.” 

 

“I gotta go now, nothin’ to worry bout Webs.” 

Spider-Man eyed him suspiciously. _Something was up. He could feel his spider-sense slightly warning him at the back of his mind- but not as a threat to Spider-Man, but that something was about to jeopardise his trust in the mercenary._

 

Truth be told, Deadpool had never really done anything harmful to Spider-Man. Admittedly, his excuses to touch him could be really annoying and could even get to borderline harassment sometimes, but there was a limit that he would go to. And yeah, the merc did emit an uncomfortable aura with his teasing, however he realised he wasn’t actually dangerous- not to Peter anyway. 

 

_And he sure wasn't as intimidating as Daredevil, even with all the ammo._

 

_…_

 

_Daredevil._

 

“Shit!” Peter exclaimed as he hurriedly grabbed his backpack. He completely forgot he was supposed to meet up with him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont get used to these daily updates heheh, I'm only posting the chapters i had that were pre written..as soon as i run out and will have to write more...it'll probs be weekly updates.

“You’re late.”

 

Peter nods his head frantically in response, dropping his backpack onto the ground and sort of collapsing on top of it.

 

“ _Really_ late.” Daredevil gestures around him, it was almost pitch black if it wasn't for a street lamp in the distance. “Told you to get here in daylight.”

 

“I-I know—I got sidetracked and-“ the teen pants. “Sorry. This place is just so far away-“

 

“Too busy pushing cars around, i assume."

 

“Wha—oh. You saw that on the news didn’t you…It wasn’t my fault though!”

 

“I heard about it. How’d you get here?”

 

Peter who still lay on the ground, waved his arms around dramatically. “I web-slung here!”

 

Daredevil frowned. _Of course he did._ “Can’t be so bad.” 

 

Spider-Man sat up, mock disbelief in his voice. “You kidding? My arms are numb. Numb i tell you!”

 

“You’re dramatic at this hour.”

 

Peter dropped back onto his backpack and flailed around. “Spider is down! I repeat spider is down!”

 

 _Foggy is usually this dramatic._ The corners of Matt’s mouth twist upwards into a  slight grin. Peter noticed this and smiled sheepishly under his mask.

 

“What?” 

 

“Nothing.” Matt turned his head in the general direction of the Nelson & Murdock office, which they were surprisingly stood near. “You remind me of a friend.”

 

“You have friends?” Peter says, somewhat surprised. “Woah, the devil of Hell’s Kitchen has _friends_. Wait, please don’t tell me they're like demon friends or something ‘cause then i can just nope out of here—”

 

“I’m not actually the devil.” Matt frowned, although he was secretly amused. “Or a demon for that matter.”

 

“Oh, good.”

 

“Yes.”

 

A silence.

 

“I presume you don’t have a herd of spider friends ready to attack either.”

 

Peter snorts. “Ha _ha_.”

 

“Good.” Matt says. Peter grins.

 

Matt is about to get to business, when a loud alarm interrupts them, both vigilantes snap their heads towards the source of the sound.

 

“Bank robbery—two streets down.” Matt says cooly and jumps off the roof, indicating to Spider-Man with a wave to follow him. “Make use of those numb arms of yours.” A tone of amusement could be heard in his voice.

 

“Ugghh.” Peter groans and gets off his perch on his backpack, shooting a web into the air and wincing as he swung down. “My poor poor arms.” He mumbled as he followed the older vigilante.

 

 

-

 

“Ah, Jack and Jill. Long time no see, it was almost like you were dead. Or did you break your crown again falling off that hill?” Deadpool sauntered into the empty warehouse he'd been given the address to come to.

 

A man and a woman stood in the middle, pausing their conversation at the mercenary’s arrival.

“Wade motherfucking Wilson, you won’t believe the job we’ve got for you.” greets the man, hands stuffed in his pockets. “And its _Jake_.” The man crossed his arms, walking over to Deadpool.

 

“Meh, another job? I think i’ll take a rain check on this one bud-“

 

The woman, Jill, scoffed.  “How’s Spidey?” 

 

“Oh, he’s great.” Deadpool pretended to sound bored, pulling out a gun from his leg strap and cleaning it with a cloth. “I mean, have you seen his ass?” He whistled. 

 

“Is this the ass thats been making you decline any job offer you get?”

 

Deadpool paused, and looked up at them for a moment. Then burst out laughing, dramatically slapping his knee with one hand and clutching his stomach with the other.

 

Jack- no- _Jake_ and Jill both stared at each other, frustrated.

 

“Hah-ahah, you guys.” Wade sighed, wiping away an imaginary tear. Deadpool’s voice suddenly hardened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

Jake sighed, exasperated. “We know, you've started to get all soft now for that wall humping freak.”

 

Wade clenched his hand around his gun. “What the shitfuck did you just call him-“

 

“Wade-” Jill interrupted, sensing the increasing tension between the two men. “We know you’ve been thinking about the little web spinning boy scout’s morality lessons.”

 

“Aaand what makes you think that?”

 

“You’ve been off the grid for a while now, we were starting to think you retired.” Jill stated, twirling her finger through her dark hair.

 

Wade tilted his head. “Retried? I would never!” he exclaimed.

 

“Ever since you been hanging out with Spidey, you’ve been refusing a lot of jobs. We know you're tryna change for him, he makes you feel guilty-doesn’t he?”

 

“Whatever you do Wade, Spider-Freak is still gonna see you as the killer you already are.” Jake added. “All ‘em heroes are like that.”

 

Deadpool jerked slightly at the statement. “You don’t know that fuckface. Spidey and I are friends. He doesn't judge like that-“

 

“Oh but he does. And you know it, Wade. No matter how much you try to deny it, you know that he doesn't trust your guts one bit. He looks at you like you're a sick freak, the only reason he tolerates you is because you haven't caused any harm in his presence so far-and oh yeah-pity of course.”  Jill sneers.

 

Deadpool stayed silent for a moment, contemplating her words. The words stung, mostly because of the truth he could feel in it but Wade is careful to keep it out of his body language. He stood still- slowly putting his gun away.

 

 Jill saw that as a sign to continue. “And the moment he senses you trying to harm anyone in his city- he’s nothing but your enemy.” 

 

Deadpool clenched his fists.

 

“You know that- you _enjoy_ act of killing. The feeling of slicing someone apart- firing a gun- blowing brains out. Its in your blood. You’re one of the best damn mercenaries we got ‘ere. No use tryna change- its better to just be who you are and decapitate anyone who pretends they can fix you- _you should know that by now._ ” She finished.

 

There was a thick moment of silence before Deadpool spoke up, abandoning his stiff stance to his usual bouncy demeanour. “Jeez, is it me or is it getting a little angsty in here? _Jake_ , take your emo self somewhere else please- not in front of the kids.”

 

“You in or not, Wilson?” He questioned irritably. 

 

“Woahohohoh honey, gotta buy me dinner first.” Wade joked, and noticed the annoyed look on his face. “Why aren’t you a persuasive fucker. Okie dokie, gimme the facts- who's the lucky person i gotta put a bullet through?”

 

Jill smiled. “Matthew Murdock.”

 

 

-

 

 

Peter whooped before launching himself at a distracted armed man. He quickly grabbed him and swung him to the ceiling, pinning him there and webbing him up. He looked over to Daredevil who was busy beating up three men at a time—until he noticed two of them trying to escape with bags of money. He hastily webbed their legs together so they fell and Peter swung from his perch, snatching the bags out of their hands. His spidey-sense flared and he dropped as bullets whizzed pass his head. The guy he webbed to the ceiling had his arms free and had somehow gotten hold of a gun.

 

“Seriously? How’d you get that gun, man?” He whined loudly as he leaped up and webbed the gun out of his hands. “Ha ha. Gun, man, gunman.” 

 

Daredevil sighed behind him. “Kid.”

 

Peter turned around and shrugged. “What? It wasn’t _that_ lame.”

 

“The _gun_ , Spider-Man. You should’ve webbed that away _first_. One of us could’ve gotten shot while we were distracted.”

 

“Oh.” Peter jumped down, webbing up the two men who were still struggling on the ground and also the guy Daredevil had beaten up—just in case. “I didn’t see it. I thought we had taken the all the guns, guess he got hold of one.”

 

“You didn’t see it.”

 

“Yeah— _oh_.” Peter scratches the back of his neck. “ _Probably_ time for you to teach me your ways?”

 

 

-

 

“And _who_ the fuck is that?” The red suited mercenary tapped his foot impatiently.

 

Jill casually strides over to him and hands him a surprisingly neat file. Deadpool raises a brow under the mask. “A file? Really? What do you think i am, SHIELD agent?”

 

“Hear us out Wilson.” Jake grumbled.

 

“ _Fine._ Let’s hear what’cha got.” Wade encouraged.

 

“He’s an attorney at ‘Nelson & Murdock’, they’re situated in Hell’s Kitchen.”

 

 _“A lawyer dude?”_ Deadpool mocked disbelief. “Damn what did he fuck up that you want him dead for- waittt a minute.” He paused as he looked at the file. “Isn’t this the firm that took down ol’ Fisky?”

 

“Yes Deadpool-“

 

“You want me to go put a bullet in the good guys? Oh my gawsh Jake- you've reached a whole new level of dick!“

 

“Just Matt Murdock. We couldn't care less ‘bout the firm- look man, he’s an easy enough target-he’s blind, literally-“

 

 _“He’s blind too?”_ Wade gripped the file tighter. “Listen shitfuck, that’s just low- even for me. Why would you want to unalive this guy?”

 

“We’re just pawns ‘pool. And so is our target.” Jake reminds him. “Our employer wants him ‘unalived’. It’s all part of a big plan- something to the advantage for all of us outcasts.”

 

“And he’s willing to pay a shit ton of cash for it too.” Jill flipped her hair back as she straightened the file out from Deadpool’s gloved hands. “We don’t know what he’s done- but he wants him dead. Mainly because of his affiliations with the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen himself.” She says in a sinister tone. Deadpool’s eyes grow wide. 

 

“Daredevil? Mister ‘if you take one threatening step into Hell’s Kitchen i will break all the bones in your body’ Daredevil?” 

 

“Our employer knows what he wants.” The woman insisted, darkly.

 

Deadpool thought for a moment. What could he possibly have done- and the fact that he’s tight with Daredevil too- “I like money, a lot.” He finally said.

 

“Don’t we all.” Jake scoffs.

 

“Shut up Jackie boy.” Deadpool said, slowly encroaching on the man, who stood his ground. “Who sent you? And what do they want with this fucker?” Wade demanded.

 

“Get your shitty mask out of my face.” Jake hissed. “I’d tell you, but our employer isn’t stupid. He never shows his face- you know we’re just in it for the bucks. Didn’t you just tell us your love for money?”

 

“Wade, we’re your friends. We’ve been partnering up on jobs for years. We’d never double cross you.” Jill insisted, always trying to avoid a fight between the red mercenary and her brother.

 

“You can stow sappy friendship crap honey!” Wade began, in a cheery, but blood curdling tone. “I’ll do it.” He stepped away.

 

“You will-?”

 

“No you absolute dickhead.” Wade said in a tone that made it look like he was explaining something to a child. “I’m a fucking mercenary, not an ableist fucking douchebag who sticks knives into a random innocent lookin’ motherfucker who probably has shit to do with a grumpy- _and admittedly sexy_ \- vigilante.” He enlightens. “Imma go check this fucker out- maybe _run into Daredevil and get all the bones in my body broken_ , and then go eat some celebratory tacos after making my decision on whether i want to slice this guy up or nah.”

 

“What.” Jill stared at him. 

 

“Hey, its not like your employer is paying me in advance or anything. Show me the cash, then i do the job.” Deadpool says, a hard tone present in his voice. “Toodles shitbags!” He waved as he skipped out of the warehouse.

It was a pointless trip, except at the same time, he knows that theres some things he should _probably_ check out sooner or later. Deadpool may not be the only mercenary this employer must’ve sent.

 

 

-

 

“You can do better than that.” Matt states. “Again.” 

 

Peter tries again, straightening his punch and putting a little more effort into it, but still making sure to pull his punches. Not that he had to, Daredevil was like some sort of ninja who could dodge anything.  

He felt sweat break out along his brow and his breathing got heavy, the older of the two nodded approvingly.

“Thats enough for now.”

 

“Great.” Peter replied breathlessly, again collapsing onto his backpack.

 

They had come back to the roof they were previously on, and Daredevil had immediately started sparring with him. Giving Peter small tips on how to manoeuvre around during a fight and how to sense multiple attacks coming at once.

Yes, Peter did get a little roughed up-he was pretty tried. But he managed to focus this time, Daredevil teaching him how to control some of his sensory problems- it helped having someone who understood them.

 

Once the younger got his breath back, he exclaimed. “This is so cool!”

 

Matt raised his brow under his mask as he sat down next to the teenager.

 

“Punching?”

 

Peter sat up, bouncing slightly. “No-well yeah, i mean. I feel like some sort of super enhanced human spider ninja with super hearing—“

 

“You already are all of that.”

 

“Oh.” Peter says, but then exclaims again. “It’s still really cool!”

 

Matt looks at him in confused amusement.

 

“I don’t know, i guess its reassuring to know what I'm doing, ya know? Everytime i fight someone, i just go out on a limb and hope for the best.”

 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Matt says. “You still have a long way to go.”

 

Spider-Man jumps to sit infront of Daredevil, legs crossed. “Im a fast learner.”

 

“I’ve noticed.”

 

Peter beams.

“Hey- what time is it?”

 

“Probably around 11.” Matt guesses, then frowns- noticing how the kid’s heart picks up. “You have to get home.”

 

“How did you kno- oh no no no!”

 

Peter frantically searches for his phone in his bag. He pulls it out. Guessing by the sudden intake of breath and the fact that he was holding the object as if it would kill him, Matt supposed there must be a lot of missed calls.

 

“No no no-“

 

Matt frowns further. “No indeed.”

 

Spider-Man wastes no time in standing up and putting his backpack on. “I really have to get home. My au-family member is gonna kill me—“

 

Matt nods. “Go on.”

 

“I’ll see you…?”

 

“Its a Friday tomorrow. Doesn’t a kid your age have plans?”

 

“You don’t know my age.”

 

“I have a very close idea.”

 

Peter huffs. “Don’t try to talk me out of this now.”

 

Matt smirks just a little. _Persistent._

“Very well, get here tomorrow evening.”

 

Peter nods and shoots a web. “See ya.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i feel a little iffy about this chapter because everything is happening so suddenly and idk how good or bad my writing is but yeah i tried

Peter is walking home on a crowded sidewalk when he feels a sharp tingle at the back of his mind, alerting him of potential danger. He drew in a breath and clenched his fists; ready to run, or fight. Gwen, who happened to be walking with him, notices.

 

“Peter what is it?” She grips his arm, looking around them to try and see what her boyfriend sensed.

 

Her gaze falls onto a man, who was sat calmly on a bench next to the side of a building. He seemed to be looking in their general direction. She nudges Peter who then also sees the man. However then she spots his tinted round glasses and cane—he’s blind.

 

“That dude look weird too you too?” Peter whispers. Gwen shrugs.

 

The two start to walk again, slowly, and Peter can’t help but notice the man’s glower intensify. He seems to be focused more on Peter, who stopped walking again and was staring right back.

 

“Somethings not right about that dude.” He whispers again.

 

“He’s blind Peter, keep walking.” She assured him, ignoring her own deductions. Peter didn’t budge, and kept looking at the man. “Gwen, don’t tell me you don’t think that he isn’t staring at me—there’s something else about him i can sense it—“ and with that he pulled himself out of her grip and started not-so-subtly walking towards the man.

 

As if he could see the teen walk towards him, the man gave a slight smile—creepy, and in a quick movement he got up and slid into the alleyway beside where he was standing.

 

Peter broke into a run, following the man into the alley, leaving Gwen to roll her eyes and follow shortly.

 

They narrow alley is empty, save for the trash piled up in a rotting dumpster. Peter lets out a growl in frustration.

 

“Lost him.”

 

“Where could a visually impaired person hide—that quick?” Gwen furrowed her brows. “Unless he isn’t.”

 

Before Peter can answer, a voice calls from above them.

 

“Spider-Man.” The voice says in his general direction. 

Ice floods through Peter’s veins, his heart starts to pound in his chest. Did someone just identify him in his civilian clothes?

 

They look up to see said blind dude perched up on the roof, waving lightly at them.

 

Gwen, who is just as surprised as him and looks at him with wide eyes before turning to see her boyfriends reaction—how’d this guy know who he was?

Peter hesitantly looks around to see that the area they were in was significantly empty— save for a few kids skateboarding right outside the narrow space they were in. He saw how the man cocked his head to the side from Peter’s lack of response. “Are you okay?” _That bastard._

 

“I-I’m fine.” He cleared his throat. Then mentally smacked himself, did he just confirm he was his alter ego?

Gwen nudged him in the side, giving him a questioning look. Peter just shrugged, telling her he was equally confused—although he didn’t look too worried, blind dude just sat casually watching—or listening to their small exchange.

 

Understanding that Peter may wan’t to confront the man above, she decided to make an exit. “I’ll see you on Monday okay?”  Gwen says as she pressed a kiss to Peter’s cheek, causing him to blush and the tips of his ears to go red as he nodded in response. Blind man raised a brow under his tinted glasses.

 

As soon as the blonde was out of sight, Peter spun around to face him.

 

“What the hell?!” He said, a little too loud. Some of the kids across the road stopped mid-skateboard to look at him. Peter ducked his head, those kids knew him— he couldn't be seen yelling about his alter ego.

 

“Thought i’d come to Queens, save you the trip.” Blind man said as Peter climbed onto the roof, away from the small audience.

 

“Oh how thoughtful of you.” The teenager hissed. “Wait—what? Who even are you?”

 

Daredevil tilted his head yet again at the sudden sarcasm.

“You’re pissed at me. Why?” Nope, there was clear amusement in his tone. He was messing with him. 

 

Peter stared at Matt in complete disbelief and irritation. “How is that not completely obvious?” He waved his hands in the air to emphasise. 

“You freaking—you asshole! I’m not in my suit! How did you even know it was me— oh God, who else knows my identity?” Peter questioned, beginning to feel faint.

 

“Kid, I don’t know your identity.”  Matt said simply. “And in my defence, your friend back there already knew who you were—i could tell by her heartbeat.”

 

Peter stares at him, eyes wide. “Daredevil?”

 

The man smiles lightly again.

 

“Oh. My. God,” Peter growls, burying his face in his hands for a moment. “Are you even kidding me right now?

 

“I identified you by your scent. You use a lot of cheap shampoo.”

 

“Uhm— thats not creepy at all.” Peter looks up at him again. “Why did you even try to find me—“

 

“Actually, i was doing some investigating here.” The older vigilante admits. “There have been some people trailing us. Wherever i go, i can sense those same heartbeats in the area.” Daredevil informs him. People trailing them—that must’ve been why Peters spider-sense went off.

 

“I had a lead— the heart beats were significantly closer— when i got distracted by a— familiar crazy heartbeat, one that belonged to Spider-Man.” He says. “Sue me, i couldn’t resist. We had to meet up today anyways.”

 

Peter blinks at him. “So your cover is pretending to be a visually impaired person?”

 

Matt shrugs, in what looked like was irritation but Peter was too pissed too notice.

 

“Wow, you have a wicked sense of humour.”  Peter scowls. Matt raises a brow.

 

There was a tense silence before Peter spoke up in defeat.

“So you know what i look like now.” He said as he sat on the edge of the roof.

 

“Not necessarily.” Matt said suddenly. Peter squinted at him.

 

“Seriously? Why are you still wearing those glasses—no one can see us.“

 

Matt comes to sit down next to Peter, ducks his head slightly, and in a split second, he pulls off the tinted glasses. Peter jerks back in surprise, as an incoherent sound escapes his lips. 

 

Daredevil looks up in Peters direction, although he seemed to be gazing off behind Peter rather than focusing on him.

 

“My name is Matt.” He said flatly. “I apologise for calling you out when had your suit off, even though mine is off too— we good?”

 

Up close, Daredevil looks a lot younger with his mask off, his hair parted and slightly ruffled by the wind. Peter notices the slight bruises and cuts around his cheekbones, and a faint outline of his cowl on his nose. He looks up to his eyes again, noticing that they still don’t focus on him, just keep staring ahead.

 

“You’re eyes…”

 

“Attractive aren’t they?”

 

Peter shook his head. “No- i mean— sure but..” he stammered.

 

“Im blind. If thats not _completely obvious_.” Matt grinned.

 

“Huh? Wait—shit, you’re _actually_ blind.“ Peter says in realisation. “What!"

 

Matt shrugs.

 

Peter exclaims. "What! How does that work—you fight crime, you’re really good but—you can’t see?“

 

“I told you, i have sharp senses. I compensate.”

 

“…Oh.”

 

Peter gasped suddenly. “Y-you!”

 

“Me.”

 

“You kept telling me not to rely on my sight! To use my other senses more! And all this was coming from a blind man.” Peter jabbed a finger in his direction, then his eyes widened. “Im sorry that was rude—“

 

“Kid, It’s fine.”

 

“No its not—“

 

“Hey. _listen._ ” Matt shifted to face him a little more. “You’re upset, but its not about this.”

 

“I—what?”

 

“Your heart rate is still high.” Matt tilted his head. “What is it?”

 

Peter blinks at him, then looks down at his feet. “Dunno.” He sighs. “I had a sudden feeling— that you would know who i am, and that since you would find out about who i really am—you’d want me to stop being Spider-Man even more.”  
Then he squints at him accusingly. “Also the fact that you kinda just pranked me with that whole creepy blind dude staring at me act— Oh my god Daredevil just pranked me.”

 

Matt grinned. “I think i’ve already figured out that you’re too stubborn to be stopped, kid.”

 

Peter smiled a little at that, and stuck his hand out in front of his companion. “Peter. Peter Parker.” He straightened up. “You can stop calling me ‘Kid’.”

 

Matt chuckled slightly, focusing on where his hand was and shaking it.

 

“So, Peter Parker. Why do you; a student, and a kid from Queens, wear spandex and swing around?”

 

The teen snapped his head up to look at Matt. “Wh- You know why.”

 

“I know why i do it, but why do _you_?”

 

Peter looks around uncomfortably. “Weren’t you following a lead you had—“

 

“It can wait.” Matt assured.

 

Peter looked straight into Matt’s eyes, although eye contact was clearly not happening. He sighs. “Because i have to.”

 

“Something tells me theres a lot more where that came from.”

 

“That something is your creepy senses.”

 

“Peter.” 

 

The teen starts to fiddle with his shoelaces. “My Uncle, just before he died—he told me, that if i could do something, that could potentially help people, it was my responsibility to do it.”

 

Matt nodded. “Sounds like he was a reasonable man.”

 

“He was the best. And so is my aunt.” The teen said, fondly.

“She’s all I've got, and I'm all she’s got, ever since i lost him.”

 

Peter shifted slightly, turning his gaze away from Daredevil. “Its my fault.”

 

Matt furrowed his brows. “You’re guilty about his death?“

 

“He died because of me.”

 

“You can’t blame yourself—“

 

“Yes i can.” He scoffed. 

 

Matt observed him silently.

 

“He died because i was so stupid, and selfish. ‘Cause i didn’t think it was my responsibility to stop the robber from getting away, even though i could’ve— _easily. And my uncle Ben got shot, by the same man i let walk past my stupid stupid sight.”_ Peter shakily stood up, Matt could tell he was holding back tears. 

 

“Peter listen—“

 

“I need a minute.” the teen jumped off the roof and onto the pavement, leaving Matt calling after him.

 

-

 

When Matt finally catches up to Peter— _man that kid travels fast_ — the sun is starting to set. He can smell the stench of blood and hear the heavy breathing of about three people. Two of who lay beat up on the ground, and one of who put them there.

This time he does notice the scent of slightly ripped spandex—he’s in his suit. Matt is as well, because it would just be weird having a random guy with sunglasses doing parkour on rooftops.

 

Hearing Matt’s footsteps behind him, Peter blinks slowly, settling himself down on the edge of the roof. He cradles his head with one hand, and his stomach with the other. _These guys got a few hits in, at least they weren't armed._

 

“You didn’t web them up.” Matt states.

 

Spider-Man doesn’t move, but he nods slightly. 

 

“Uncharacteristic of you. What happened?” 

 

“Found our supposed stalkers.” Peter turns to look at Matt. “Im not sure how much they heard—and i can’t convince them to keep their mouths sealed about us.” He gestures to the men on the ground. 

 

One of them chuckles. “Why don’t you just kill us then? Or are you too scared?”

 

“I tried to find out who they were working for but they just won’t speak—“

 

“Hear that? Spider-Man wants to know who we’re workin’ for.” The man says clearly amused by the vigilantes methods. 

 

The second guy on the ground shifts and cackles loudly. “Well i can tell you one thing Spider, you have no idea of what our boss wants to do to you once he gets his hands on your —AAAGGGH!” The man yelps as Daredevil gets a hold of him and breaks his wrist in one swift movement. Peter looks up at him with wide eyes.

 

Matt then turns his attention to Peter for a brief second. “Remind me to teach you how to get information out of people.” He then knees the man in the stomach.

“What do you know about us? And what _exactly_ does your employer want from us?”

 

“Wha—wha’s the devil doin’ ‘ere?”

 

“Shut up.” Matt growls in his ear, a tone that sent chills down Peters spine and reminded him that this was _Daredevil._

 

“Who are you working for?”

 

“I ain’t tellin ya.”

 

“I wouldn't have said that if i were you.” Peter says.

 

Before the man can register what Spider-Man said Daredevil punches his in the jaw, most likely breaking a few teeth.

 

“Im gonna ask you again, and i want an honest answer— Who are you working for?”

 

Realising that the devil wasn't gonna leave him without breaking a few more bones, he started pleading. “I-I don’ know! I don’ know!”

 

“I want a name.”

 

The second man on the ground who decided it was best to stay down then get beat up spoke up. “None of us know who we work fo’. All we know is we get payed ‘lot. ’n that boss wants to wipe you vigilantes out.”

 

“He wants to kill us?” Spider-Man questioned.

 

“What else do ya think wipe out means? But we ‘re told that he wants the Spider-Man alive—for himself.”

 

Daredevil stayed silent for a moment— _these two were telling the truth._ Sensing Peter’s discomfort, Matt turned back to the man he still had pinned.

 

“You’re gonna tell your boss that he’s going to regret it if he even tries to get near Spider-Man—or any of us.”

 

“im ‘fraid thats not how it works, devil—AGH” another knee to the stomach.

 

“What is your employers plan?”

 

“Wha-AAAGH“ a broken rib.

 

“h-he wants vigilantes off the streets!” the man squeaked. “He’s sent mercenaries more trained than us to keep an eye out for the people you care about—and if you don’ stop doin’ what you do we hav’ to kill em’. If you still don’ stop, he’s gonna send his men to kill you. _Please im tellin’ the truth!_ ”

 

Blood boiling with anger, Matt raises his fist to punch the man again.

 

“M-Daredevil stop!” Peter yells, suddenly in front of him. Matt stares at him, fist raised. “We got what we needed, he’s had enough.”

 

Daredevil stands still a bit longer before dropping his fist and shoving the man to the ground.

 

“You two keep your mouths shut—and leave this city, or i _will_ come after you and you won’t be able to see the light of day after that.” Matt growls in a blood-curdling tone, then swiftly flips onto the next roof motioning for Spider-Man to follow.

 

-

 

Peter sits cross-legged in the middle of the roof as he watches Matt pace slowly, probably deep in planning something. Matt senses the teen’s gaze on him and turns in his direction.

“Peter.” He says in an acknowledging tone. The younger looks away.

 

“That was a bust.”

 

Matt makes a sound of disagreement. “Not entirely. We know what their plan is.”

 

Peter shrugs as he stands up, wincing at the sharp pain in his stomach from where he was kicked multiple times.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah I’m fine.” He forces.

 

Matt shakes his head. “Mentally. Emotionally.” 

 

Peter pauses, remembering the conversation they had before he ran off. He tried hiding most of his emotions from Daredevil, hoping that it would convince him he could handle himself—obviously that seemed almost impossible to do from someone who could read your heart.

 

“ ‘m fine.”

 

“I have to teach you to stop lying to me as well.”

 

Peter scowls at Matt, who only crosses his arms in response.

 

“What about you? You were almost gonna kill the guy—“

 

“I wouldn’t go so far, besides, you know my methods. Why didn’t you web them up?”

 

Peter shrugs.

 

“You don’t wanna talk about it.” Matt states. Peter holds his breath at how completely transparent he was standing in front of him, but he was also thankful that Matt could read him because he was definitely not in the mood to talk.

 

“You’re not alone, Spider-Man.” Daredevil suddenly told him. “Get some rest.”  He advised, and bumped his shoulder companionably.

 

Spider-Man flexes, doing his best to ignore the pain in his stomach before he looks up at Daredevil. He has a small reassuring smile on his face that somehow calmed Peter’s emotions—allowing him to breathe.

 

Matt then reaches in his suit and pulls out a small business card.

“We’re gonna make sure they don’t get to us, so its best to stay in contact.” He hands over the card, which Peter gingerly takes. “Peter, look at me. No one will get to you, or your aunt. I wont let that happen.”

 

And with that, he walks over to the edge of the roof. “Oh and, say hi to your girlfriend from me.” And Peter blushes as he can hear the tone of amusement in his companions voice.

 

Once Daredevil has left, Spider-Man looks down at the card in his hands. It was a business card, with two numbers on them—one of them must be Matt’s. The card said ‘Nelson & Murdock, attorneys at law’, and thats when Peter twitched a little in surprise. Matt _Murdock_ — _Daredevils a lawyer_? Peter snickered at the irony before slipping the card into his suit and swinging home.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a tiny part in this chapter is inspired by my best friend dropping her phone by accident two floors down a shopping mall and me being the awesome friend i am started laughing at her while she freaked out XD

“ _I have a pen, i have an apple_ —ummphh!”

 

“Please don’t ever sing that in my presence again, unless you want to be killed—which you’ll come back from and probably start singing again.” Peter shudders. “That would be a nightmare.”

 

“Spidey what the fuck!” Deadpool exclaims, even though there is only amusement in his voice. “You don’t just throw a taco at a fellow memelord!”

 

“I hate that meme, i hate apples, i hate pineapples,“

 

“Oh i’ll shove a pineapple up your—“

 

“And now i have this sudden urge to write all my assignments in pencil.“ Peter interrupts before that got any further.

“Assignments? Baby boy you’re a student?”

 

Peter falters. “Well i—“

 

“So you like, go to college? Ooh ooh! Let me guess, are you like those hipster art majors? Because you sure sound like some noob off of tumblr sometimes, with all your morality lessons.”

 

“Sure whatever you say.” Spider-Man shrugs as he unwraps a second taco and bites into it.

 

“Man, do you even fight crime or do you just sit on roof tops and eat tacos? Maybe we need to get a better writer, all she can do is write emotionally constipated dialogue. Probably because of all the emotionally constipated TV shows she watches.”

 

“What?”

 

“Oh nothing important Webs.” Deadpool says cheerily.

 

Peter decides to ignore it like all the other things Deadpool rambles on about. Although the talkative company is entertaining, and makes him feel better at times when he just doesn’t want to talk.

 

_Also; Deadpool, writing stories is definitely not my strong suit._

 

“Definitely not, sugarplum.”

 

“Told you to stop with the names.” Spider-Man said, his mouth full of taco.

 

“Wasn’t talkin to you baby boyy.” Deadpool sing-sang. “You’re being really tense these days, which you are all the time- its kinda hot to be honest. But right now it looks like someone shoved a stick up your a—“

 

“Whats with you and shoving stuff up peoples behinds?” Peter grumbles.

 

Deadpool just gives a high pitched laugh in response. “But seriously, who's bothering you— I’ll smoke up their ass. No one messes with Spidey’s fine behind and gets away with it.” He says and Peter can’t help but snort.

 

Spider-Man sighs. “I’m not sure where to start.” _Or how much i should tell you._

 

Deadpool chews on his taco expectantly, almost innocently. Made Peter wan’t to spill any thing and everything to the mercenary— _i mean, he wouldn’t betray me, right?_ He debated with himself.

 

“Wade, you remember that break in we teamed up to stop? The one with the 10 armed men?”

 

“Spidey, sweettums, honey, that was like, what? A month ago? how could i forget—especially saving your ass from the random 11th motherfucker who tried to shoot you while you were straddling that dude—“

 

“Okay okay yeah i know. Um.” Peter fiddles with the paper bag that once held his taco. “I think that, well— they may be resurfacing.”

 

“But we beat the shit outta them! We were badass!”

 

“No i mean, like i think that they are a part of a bigger, organisation? Cult? I don’t know.”

 

Deadpool tilts his head. “Did someone come after you? Like, other than them nasty cops?”

 

Peter shrugged vaguely. Then swivelled in his spot to face the mercenary completely. “When you interrogated that short guy, what did you find out?”

 

Wade shifts hesitantly, Spider-Man notices the movement. “Nothing important babycakes. Only the usual ‘we vant tu take spiderman to our leader.’” He mimics and suddenly grabs Spidey by the shoulders.

 

“Wade what—“

 

“I’ll never let go Jack! I’ll never let go!” Deadpool cries and proceeds to start singing my heart will go on.

 

_“Wade.”_

 

Deadpool starts prancing around and singing as if Peter isn’t there, almost as if avoiding the topic—or he’s just being his ‘i don't give a fuck’ self. He couldn’t really tell.

 

Spider-Man would be amused if he wasn’t so worried about what had happened almost a week ago when he was with Daredev— _Matt.  
_

That night had so many surprises that Peter needed that week to clear his head. He also explained everything to Gwen which made him feel a hundred times lighter. Peter had told his girlfriend about what an asshole the fellow vigilante was and how he thought he didn’t have a sense of humour before this, which Gwen seemed to find really funny. He also told her about the business card and how Daredevil said he would make sure his aunt was safe, and asked her whether she thought he should trust him or not. Gwen had stared at him incredulously like it was obvious. Daredevil had not only revealed his identity to Peter, but also given him access to contact his workplace. She was so relieved that he had another vigilante that he could go to and ask for help from, they didn’t want a repeat of the lizard again.

 

Gwen was usually right about these things, so Peter decided he’d drop by Hell’s Kitchen again this weekend. But not before calling Matt first.

 

A feeling of warmth flooded into Peter’s stomach at the thought. Daredevil preferred to work alone, Peter was flattered that the man had reached out to him—even share identities with him.

 

There was Deadpool, there for him to laugh with and to feed him, which was admittedly weird but hey he wasn't complaining. Peter looked up at the man who was still dancing except he was doing the macarena now.

 

“Hey i’ll see you later Wade.” Peter announced though the man was still busy in his fake concert. The teen swung straight for home, it was best he spend as much time around his house as he could—since he wasn’t going to stop doing what he does, and he has to make sure no one was after his aunt.

 

If anything were to happen to Aunt May, his life would collapse around him.

 

 

-

 

Swinging around the neighbourhood early morning was exactly what the young vigilante needed right now. There was something calming and satisfying when patrolling Queens at dawn; watching people leave their houses for work, kids off to school—crime at its least. This was the time Spider-Man freely swing and practiced his flipping around. He whooped as he flipped, enjoying the free fall moments. There was no room for thoughts while he was falling through the air.

 

Spidey was just in mid-flip when he felt a sudden weight falling from a small pocket in his suit. He panicked and shot a web to the side of a building to stick to it.

 

“Oh no no no no no _no_.” Peter said as he felt his thin pocket in his suit to see that his phone was definitely not there and that indeed that was the weight that fell out of his pocket. “Not my phone!”

 

He jumped down onto the sidewalk where it must’ve fell and looked around. A few pedestrians took a step back in awe and pulled out their camera phones at the sight of the local hero in front of them.

 

Spider-Man’s gaze falls onto the gutter on the street. With dread he walks over and peers inside, and yep—there it is. He can see it with his slightly enhanced sight.

It’s also broken, completely; from such a fall. So much that Peter would probably spend more money on fixing it rather than just getting a new one. _No use going down there to get it._

 

“Why. Why me.” The teen says as he slumps his shoulders and goes to swing away.

 

Rip Iphone 3Gs.

 

 

-

 

Peter climbed through the window to his bedroom and fell onto his bed. He closed his eyes and relaxed his features, but the opened them again when he heard the sound of what must be his aunt making breakfast— he really should get changed out of his Spiderman suit before he gets too comfortable. He stands up resentfully, and slowly shrugs off his suit, kicking it under the bed. There is stuff everywhere on his floor, if Aunt may saw the state of his room—

 

“Peter? You up yet dear?”

 

Peter sighed and lazily pulled on the nearest long sleeved shirt he could find and a pair of worn out jeans. He slipped on some sneakers and trudged down the stairs.

 

“Mmm are those pankcakes?” Peter mumbles, slightly waking up at the fresh smell of food, and went ahead and snatched one from the pile the his aunt had made.

 

“Good morning to you too.” she eyed him teasingly. Peter grinned, pancake stuffed in his mouth. “You’re usually up earlier, what happened today?”

 

Peter shrugged, yawning. “N-nothing. Just tired, is all.”

 

He had started to patrol at any free time he had got— which is what led to his early expedition this morning. What had happened that night with Matt had left a queasy feeling in his stomach that made him confuse superstition with his spider-sense. Which also meant he had been getting less sleep unfortunately. _But as long as people were safe, and Aunt May._

 

His aunt hummed as she ushered him over to sit down at the table and set the pancakes in front of him. Peter laughed a little. “Aunt May I'm fine, you don’t need to strain yourself.”

 

“Nonsense. Im just making my boy some breakfast.” She said, hands on her hips. “Now eat, you look like you might just fall over.” Aunt May tsked as she walked into the living room, leaving Peter to eat.

 

 

His aunt returned a few moments later, taking Peter’s plate and putting it into the sink.

 

“Peter, you didn’t happen to loose a business card did you dear? I found this in on the stairs and i think it might've fallen out of your backpack.” She placed the card on the table. “Is it yours? I wasn’t sure if i should throw it away or not.”

 

He looked down at the card, confused at first. His eyes then widened in memory. It was the Law firm business card that Daredevil had given to him expecting him to be in contact. Peter mentally slapped himself at his forgetfulness.

 

“Oh—uh yeah Aunt May it is, thanks.” He says, and then pauses—remembering the tragic incident where he lost this phone this morning. “Aunt May?”

 

“Yes Peter?”

 

“Um, can i use your phone? Mine’s been acting up a little.” He lied.

 

“Of course you can. But why? Are you going to call those numbers on the card?” _Damn, his aunt was smart. It was a wonder how he still kept his alter ego from her._

 

“Uh yeah?“

 

“Why would you need to call a law firm, Peter?”

 

“School project?” 

He cursed silently at his habit of putting an inflection on the end of everything he said.

 

Thankfully his aunt didn’t question him more and let him borrow her phone. Peter skipped up stairs and shut the door to his room, biting his lip as he dialled the first number. 

 

A woman picked up on the first ring, she sounded cheery although Peter could hear the stress in her voice.

 

“Nelson and Murdock, how can i help you?”

 

Peter panicked for a moment— _how do i english?_

“Um, Hi.” He said.

 

“Hello?” The lady replied, not impatient though.

 

“Im Peter.” _I am also screaming internally._

 

“Hello Peter, I’m Karen, what can i do for you?”

 

“Does Matt Murdock work here?” _Wow, Peter. Really professional, like it doesn't say so on the business card._

 

The woman; Karen, actually laughed at that. “Yes, he does. Im his secretary.”

 

_Oh._

 

“Is— Is Matt around? C-can i speak to him?” 

 

Karen paused for a moment. 

 

“Unfortunately he hasn’t arrived at the office yet.” She sounded concerned. _Does she know about him being Daredevil?_ Peter wondered.

 

“Foggy Nelson is here though, if you want to speak to him instead?” She said thoughtfully.

 

 _Who’s Foggy?_ “Uh no thanks i’ll just—“

 

“Is there something you want to say to Matt? If you want i can pass on the message. Or you could just try his cell. I’m not sure if he’d pick up though.”

 

Peter nodded. But then realised he was on the phone and she couldn’t see him nod. “Oh um. Well incase he doesn’t pick up, could you tell him to call me on this number? ” 

 

“Sure thing, Peter…?” 

 

“Parker.”

 

“Okay then, i’ll make sure to tell him. Bye Peter.” And she hung up, must be a busy office. _With a really nice secretary._

 

 _Why was he even trying to contact them anyways?_ Peter thought. Sure, Daredevil showed genuine concern, and he did believe in him. But it wasn’t like Peter was the heart reader here, could he even trust Matt?

He suddenly shook his head at the thought— _I'm just being anxious._ Daredevil had been around for a while now, if he wanted to do anything actually shady, he’d have done it already, and wouldn't have given his own identity and his coworkers identities to Peter.

 

Peter bit his lip again as he stared at the other two numbers on the card. One of them must be Matt’s cell. But which one?

 

_Ah, what the hell._

 

He dialled the second number, silently hoping it’d be the right one.

 

“Franklin Nelson speaking.”

 

Peter groaned.

 

“Um, what was that? Who are you and why are you moaning?” The man said, although he sounded quite amused.

 

“I- sorry uh. I was hoping this was Matt’s cell.”

 

The man groaned this time, still amusedly. “Don’t they all.” Some shuffling could be heard in the background. “Well this is his charming law partner Foggy, and i can assure you he won’t pick up his phone any time soon, so could i get your name so i can remind him who’s missing him exactly.” This man was either really done with Matt or speaking out of fondness, maybe both.

 

“Peter Parker?”

 

“You don’t sound so sure about that?” Foggy mimicked.

 

Peter nervously chuckled a little. “Right—sorry. Im sure.”

 

“Alright then. Goodbye strange dude.” He hung up.

 

Peter sighed. That left the last number.

 

He dialled the number and bit his lip yet again. Nervous habits.

 

Matt wasn’t picking up, it seems like his partner and secretary knew what they were talking about when they said so. _Did something happen to him? Was he usually late to his job because of his late night activities?_ Peter pondered. _The civilian life of Daredevil._

 

The teen sighed and decided to get done with some homework while hoping for Matt to call back. Otherwise he’d have to go by himself to Hell’s Kitchen as Spider-Man at night. Which still didn’t sound as appealing as it was before.

 

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i am updating super fast aren't i? i wasn't going to initially, but waking up to new comments everyday is kinda motivating. hehhehe.

 

Karen was too engrossed in going over paperwork for her to notice Matt stumble into the office, which is why she jumped a little in her seat when she felt a presence near her.

 

“Oh, Matt!” She said, face flushed. “I didn’t see you come in.”

 

Matt grinned, opening the door to his office room. “Sorry.”

 

Karen shook her head smiling. “Why are you so late anyways— wait, don’t answer that.” She stood up and picked up a sticky note from her desk, walking over and handing it to the lawyer.

 

“Someone called, asking to speak to you. I figured you wouldn’t pick up your phone so,  i told him you’d call him on this number— uh, i can read it out to you—“

 

Matt raised a brow slightly. “No it’s fine i can feel the number—Um, did they— _he_ give a name?”

 

Karen nodded, wondering if Matt could tell. “Peter Parker.”

 

Matt then made an expression that Karen could only recognise as surprise, his lips slightly parted as if he didn’t know what to say next.

 

Foggy took that moment to barge out of his office. “You too? That strange little dude called me as well, are you wooing people behind our backs, Matthew?” He said jokingly.

 

Matt made a sound of protest. “No—“

 

“You don’t even pick up your phone, and you have two! Mister Burner Mc Burner phone!”

 

Matt grinned sheepishly. “You know i’m not doing anything behind your backs—i mean other than—“

 

“Playing batman?” Foggy snorted. 

Karen giggled. “Wait, is this Peter guy some kind of…” She lowered her voice. “ _Daredevil associate_?”

 

Matt shifted. “ _Karen_ —“

 

Foggy furrowed his brows. “Is he _Spider-Man_?”

 

Karen laughed at that, but stopped when she noticed Matt’s hands grip his cane a little tighter. “Wha—“

 

“Is he?” Foggy pressed.

 

“ _Foggy._ ”

 

Karen looked between the two lawyers. “Wait, you’re not being serious are you?”

 

“That’s a wild guess Fog.”

 

Foggy ignored him. “You told me you’ve got stuff to do with the little dude, don’t even try to deny it! I even saw a picture of Daredevil and Spider-Man on a roof in a magazine.“

 

“Really?“ Karen said amused.

 

“Yep. And it was in the fan art section. They all thought it was a manip or some shit, but i just knew—“

 

“Guys.” Matt sighed lightly.

 

Foggy stared pointedly at his friend. “Don’t lie to us Murdock. Those pictures weren't just in a magazine—”

 

The blind lawyer stopped him. “It’s not my place to confirm his secret identity.”

 

“So you admit that this Parker kid has an alter ego—“

 

“Foggy.” 

 

“Alright alright.” He put his hands up in surrender, changing the topic. “Im gonna go pack up my shit.”

 

“Already? Thought you had to go next week.”

 

“You thought yesterday was Tuesday, Matt.” Karen playfully nudged him.

 

“It wasn’t?”

 

“Its Saturday, today.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Foggy laughed and pat his friend on the shoulder. “I’ll be back in a week buddy, so before christmas. Wish you were coming with me.”

 

Matt shrugged. “Someones gotta stay here. Say hi to your family for me.”

 

-

 

 

Matt traced the number on the note with his fingers.

 

He didn’t think Peter would actually call him, either from being too scared or just because of his inferiority complex.

Matt barely knows the kid and already he gets that he’s not a danger to anyone but himself. Spider-Man seems alone and burdened in a way that Matt is uncomfortably familiar with. The kid reminds him of his younger self in a strange way. He has power, but he doesn’t have the necessary experience for what they do yet.  
Matt personally knows how much this job can mess with your head. Not that he thinks that the kid has made stupid decisions; he seems abnormally smart for his age. He just knows how it can be when you’re on your own.

So yes, he has already developed a little bit of a protective streak despite only just getting to know the young vigilante.

 

He wasn’t sure why he decided to keep this particular vigilante in contact—to the point where they knew each others identities. Whether it was out of concern for each other or the loneliness they felt when they had no one else they could relate to. Nonetheless, it was good to have an ally you could trust. Matt could trust Peter.

 

He dialled the number and hit call.

 

-

 

 

 

 

Peter practically fell out of his chair when he hears his aunts phone start to ring from across the room. He frantically scrambles for it and flops onto his bed in the process. Without thinking he presses answer and yells;

 

“Double-D!”

 

He can hear a sharp intake of breath on the other end and immediately regrets it.

 

“Uh—sorry.” He bit his lip, although he could hear a faint laugh coming from him.

 

“If we’re going to do this, you have to promise not to make me go deaf. I think the blind thing is enough charm.” The lawyer says in complete monotone, but the amusement was clear.

 

Peter is at a loss for words, mostly the nervousness—but also because he had no idea why he tried to contact him in the first place. What did he need?

 

“I- uh.” He swallows.

 

“You don’t know why you called.”

 

“You can read me over the phone?” Peter asks, his voice high pitched from his nerves.

 

“Don’t need enhanced senses to tell.” Matt says. “But mostly because I don’t know either.”

 

“Uh—“

 

Matt changes the subject. “How is your aunt?”

 

“She’s fine.” Peter sighed.

 

“Any trouble?” _Regarding mercenaries out to kill?_

 

“Except the fact that i dropped my phone down the gutter and am currently using hers? None.”

 

Matt chuckles on the other end. Peter grins a little.

 

“Still remember how to throw a punch?”

 

Peter sits up. “Wha— of course i do!”

 

“It’s been a while since you’ve trained.” Matt says. 

 

“I know how to throw a damn punch.”

 

“We’ll see then.” Matt smirks. “Think you can make the trip here today? Didn’t work out so well when i came to your area last time.”

 

“Uh huh—I mean. Yeah i can—um.” Peter scratches the back of his neck. “As myself or—“

 

“Civilian attire. If thats alright. I’m at work and won’t be on patrol until a while.”

 

“Got it.”

 

The line is silent for a while before Peter starts to breathe shakily.

 

“Hey— I— I can trust you right?” The teen blurts out.

 

Matt is silent. He realises that just because he can read people and know when to trust them doesn’t mean they can do that too towards him.

 

Peter senses the tenseness and speaks. “Im sorry, i just. I need—“

 

Matt stops him. “That’s your decision. Whether you want to trust me.”

 

Peter furrows his brows. “But—“

 

“You know, you don’t need me, Peter.” Matt says suddenly. “But you don’t have to be alone.”

 

Peter opens his mouth to argue—but instead he says, “You’re saying this like its from experience.”

 

“I’ve been where you are, i know how it feels.” Matt says. “It’s your call.”

 

Peter stays silent for a moment, taking in Matt’s words of experience. I mean, i _t couldn’t hurt to have an ally that frequently spews random wisdom, and his wicked sense of humour despite all the stoic outer shell when he’s in his devil suit…..plus, i need friends._

 

“I trust you, Matt.”

 

_-_

 

 

Spider-Man drops down onto a low building and then jumps down onto the narrow alley at the back of it. He slides behind a dumpster and quickly shrugs on his long sleeved shirt and jeans. He takes off his suits gloves and boots and stuffs them into his backpack. The teen almost emerges when he realises he’s still wearing the mask. 

 

“How does no one know who i am yet—I'm an idiot.” He says as he pulls off his mask and stuffs into his jeans pocket.

 

 _Matt knows, that asshole._ Peter argues with himself. _So does Gwen_ —but he told her himself.

 

Peter darts across the street, giving a thumbs up as a car slows to let him pass. He skips over a gutter on the other end of the street, grumbling to himself about how much he hates them and how he’ll never get a new phone when his aunt finds out. 

 

The chilly december wind causes his cheeks to flush, and Peter draws out a breath, looking up at the building in front of him.

 

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the business card, re-reading the address once more to confirm that this was in fact the building that he was looking for.

 

Peter walks closer to the entrance, spotting a sign hung next to it. His eyes went wide as he read the neat letters on it. ‘Nelson and Murdock: Attorneys at Law’, just like on the card.  
  
He knew where Daredevil worked. He knew who his secretary and his law partner were. Never mind the fact the Daredevil knew who he was. He was getting a little too excited.

 

In his office, Matt can practically hear Peter bounding up the stairs. He lets out a breath he must’ve been holding, for no apparent reason—maybe.

 

The lawyer walks out of his office, gesturing to Karen. 

 

“Peter will be here any seco—“

 

“Matt!”

 

Both Matt and Karen jump at the loud sound and turn to look at the door—Matt more in sensitivity and Karen more in surprise. A a short figure is standing on the other side, fiddling with the handle. 

 

“Why is this door locked.” They heard him grumble. Karen makes an ‘O’ sound and gets up to open the door, but the figure beats her and the door opens with a loud click of something breaking. Karen gasps and steps back.

 

Peter is standing awkwardly in the doorway, holding the door handle in his hands while the door swings wide open.

 

He clears his throat.

 

“Hi!” He says, shyly. “Uhm—It was already broken?” 

 

Matt chuckles to himself and Peter makes a sheepish grin towards Karen.

 

“How did you—“

 

“He’s kind of strong—and _clumsy_.” Matt says in Peter’s direction, pointedly. Peter shrugs.

 

Karen’s face is still in shock, and Matt shifts uncomfortably; wondering if this was a bad idea.

 

“Ohmygod.“ She says. “How old is he? He’s—You are so _adorable_.”

 

Peter’s doe eyes widen at this, cheeks blushing a little, and he blames it on the cold air. “Scuse me?” He stammers.

 

Karen crosses her arms and turns to Matt. “Matt, you never told me he was so adorable.”

 

Matt blinks at her behind his tinted glasses.

 

She hurries over to Peter, leading him inside and taking the door handle from him. “Get inside! Aren’t you cold? You don’t even have a sweater!” She quickly shuts the door behind him.

 

“I'm fine really—“

 

“He’s so precious—can we keep him?” Karen looks at Matt. “He can be our intern and i can make him coffee—or hot chocolate because he’s so tiny.”

 

Peter stares at her, bewildered. “Wha—“

 

“I’m pretty sure it works the other way round, Karen.” Matt says, starting to enjoy this.

 

“Oh—you’re Karen?” Peter asks.

 

“Yep. We talked on the phone. Hello Peter! You look like the human version of Bambi. Matt, why didn’t you tell me?” She grins and takes out her hand for him to shake.

 

“Does he? I wouldn’t know.” Matt sounds almost genuine save for the smile on his face.

 

Peter smiles back awkwardly at Karen and shakes her hand. She’s tall, taller than him and taller than Matt as well, with her heels.

 

“By the way,” She says. “I was going to pretend i didn’t know, but, i mean—your suit is sticking out.”

 

Peter’s eyes widen in realisation and he pulls his shirt down where some of the red and blue suit was exposed. He looks back up again, suddenly conscious.

 

“Did Matt tell you…“

 

Matt starts to explain when Peter looks at him but Karen does it instead. “No, he didn’t. Foggy figured it out, there have been a lot of pictures of you together in the papers—so it was kind of obvious. Aaaand you did just break the door handle single handedly.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“You don’t have to worry, secrets safe with us.” She smiled reassuringly, but then puts her hands on her mouth in sudden realisation. “Oh my god, Spider-Man is a kid.”

 

Matt nods at that, and Peter mock groans but then furrows his brows.

 

“Where is.. Foggy?”

 

Matt leans on Karen’s desk. “Left this morning for his cousins wedding. He’ll be back in a few days.”

 

“He really wanted to meet you.” Karen adds.

 

“Oh, cool.” Peter says, a little overwhelmed. Matt notices this, so does Karen.

 

“Hey, Bambi. Did you think i was joking when i said i’d make you hot chocolate? You wait right here and talk about hero stuff with Matt.” She pushes him onto her chair behind the desk and walks over to the kitchen. Peter watches her go, amused. He had started to like her immediately. _Wow, Matt has nice friends._ Peter didn’t have many of those, these days.

 

“I should warn you, there’s not much quality in her drinks—“

 

“They’re made with love!” Karen’s voice comes from behind him.

 

“Of course, Karen.” Matt chuckles. 

 

Peter looks at the clutter of papers and files on the desk, along with what looked like was a photograph of Matt, Karen and a third person—must be Foggy. They were smiling widely in the picture, drinks in their hands.

 

“You look really goofy.” Peter says out loud. Then looks up at Matt, realising that was out of context for a blind man. “Oh—uh! There’s a photo on this desk—“

 

“I know.” Matt interrupts. “We were pretty drunk. We won a big case that day, Karen had insisted we go out.” He says fondly.

 

Peter nods and puts the photograph down. He starts to spin around in Karen’s chair. “Nice office.”

 

“I’m told its messy.”

 

“It’s a good messy. Whatever that means.” Peter shrugs.

 

There is a short silence, and the teen takes those few moments of quiet to observe the lawyer. The difference between how he looked now and his nighttime attire was jarring. Peter still had to keep telling himself that this was in fact Daredevil, not just calm, respectful, attorney Matt Murdock.

 

 

The sound of Karen’s heels can be heard in the room again and a mug of hot chocolate is pushed into Peter’s hands. “Thanks.” He gives Karen a shy smile. “I really like your chair.” He emphasises by spinning around slowly, careful not to drop the drink he was given.

 

Karen grins. “We could get you one too, if you’re planning to stick around.”

 

“As an intern or as a vigilante apprentice?” He jokes.

 

“I may have taken care of that already.” Matt admits. Both Karen and Peter look at him confused.

 

Peter’s eyes widen. “Don’t tell me you called my Aunt!”

 

Matt grins. Peter yells.

 

“Matt!”

 

“She likes me. I have that sort of charm.” He says simply. Karen makes an amused sound. “I managed to convince her that you have an internship here at Nelson and Mudrock. She’ll be expecting you to come here every week.”

 

Peter looks at him incredulously and whines. “Shouldn’t have left the phone with her.”

 

“You made the right decision to do so. If anything happens she can contact me.”

 

Peter’s eyes widen. “So you think something will happen?”

 

“Wait, what will happen?“ Karen says faintly, looking between the two.

 

Matt says nothing, he exhales through his nose. Peter puts his mug down and bounces up in front of him. “Do you?”

 

“You don’t need to be scared just yet, Peter. It’s barely been a week, and you have been laying low. We don’t even know if they know you have an aunt.”

 

“It’s hard not to be scared.” Peter admits, and Matt understands why he’s always so skittish when he shares his feelings. Because he never admits that to anyone. He always has to play the hero, and Matt can relate.

 

Karen steps in. “Wait, why are we being scared? What’s going on. Matt?”

 

“You don’t have to worry Karen.”

 

Peter sips his hot chocolate, glancing between the two of them.“She kind of does, you heard what those guys said that night. She is associated with you—Daredevil, doesn’t matter what extent—“

 

“Peter, i’ve got it handled—“

 

“Yeah, you were gonna train me. But what if it isn’t enough?”

 

“It will be.”

 

“Don’t underestimate the enemy.”

 

The two are silent before Karen speaks, smirking slightly at Matt. “I like him, he’s good.”

 

Peter gives a wide smile to the secretary, his teeth dripping hot chocolate.

 

Karen coos at the sight and then gives Matt a stern look, her voice authoritative, “I think you should take some advice from your vigilante intern sometimes. And you have a lot of explaining to do, what is going to happen exactly?”

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter ten, the last chapter that i had pre written. *cracks fingers* time to actually start writing. enjoy this chapter :) i hope I'm not dragging it on.

 

One long explanation, two cups of coffee, and another hot chocolate for Peter (which, to Matt’s surprise, he actually loved) later, the vigilantes have changed into their suits. 

Karen is still there, as she insisted over bonding with Peter, who was pulling on his spidey boots as she fusses over him.

 

Matt smiles from his office. _Good_ , he thought. He was glad they we’re getting along. He slides on his cowl and steps onto his office to what seemed like Karen poking and prodding at Peter’s suit.

 

“You made this—all by yourself?”

 

“yep.” and Matt can hear the smugness in his voice. 

 

“Wow—But—You should have some sort of armour.” She says. “Something like Matt’s suit.”

 

“It’d affect my web slinging, slow me down. I wouldn’t cut through the air as fast.” 

 

“But what do you do if you get cut? Or shot?” Karen says, pure horror in her voice.

 

“He shouldn’t.” Matt says. The two jump and turn around to see him fully dressed in his suit.

 

“Oh my god Matt.” Karen says, hand on her chest. “That is the second time today, and even worse because your in your suit and—“

 

“I won’t.” Peter says, as if a challenge. His mask isn’t on yet, and his expression has changed to complete alertness. 

 

“We’ll see.” Matt says flatly. Peter pulls his mask on and is bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet, already full of energy.

 

“From Bambi to mini ninja mode.” Karen states. The two suited heroes look at her. “If i see more than a scratch on him, i will call Foggy to get back here and kick your ass personally.” She says to Matt, suddenly unfazed by his stoic demeanour. “And that applies to you as well. I don't wanna see you wincing every time you stand up.”

Peter laughs at Karens mothering, Matt grumbles a little but gives a slight smile. “We’re just training.”

 

“And don’t stay out too long. It’s freezing!”

 

“Night Karen!” Peter says as he leaps out of the window, Matt jumping out right after.

 

Karen stares after them incredulously. _“Vigilantes.”_

 

 

_-_

 

 

 

 

 

“Whoa—Hey Matt slow down already!” Peter yells as he desperately tries to catch up with Daredevil who despite lack of transport manages to out run him. _Its probably because he has the advantage of being on his own turf, he knows his way around better._

 

Matt comes to a halt behind a building, causing some snow to fall off where he placed his feet. Peter swings down and lands lightly on the snow, panting a little.

 

“ _Daredevil._ ” Matt corrects. Peter’s eyes widen at his slip of tongue. “Oh crap—“

 

“It’s okay, no one heard. Just don’t make that mistake again.”

 

“Where are we going anyways? Can’t we just train on any random roof?” He whines, cheeks flushed under the mask.

 

“We have some people to _talk_ to first.” Daredevil answers.

 

Peter squints. “Talk? Wait you mean—“ His words catch. “ _No._ No we are not—“

 

“You’re the one who said just training won’t be enough. We need answers, kid. And i doubt our civilian selves can access that knowledge.”

 

“But—“

 

“ _You said so._ ”

 

Peter crosses his arms. “Seriously? Ugh, now i regret being wise and stuff. That’s your job now.”

 

Matt smirks at him and jumps onto a low window ledge. “Let’s go.”

 

-

 

Leaning over a lamp post to glance at the parking lot, Peter pillows his head on his arms as he watches his mentor corner a dude in a leather jacket. Third person he’d watched Daredevil corner that night, and so far they had nothing. 

 

“Oh man, not you again.” The leather jacket man says. Daredevil shoves him into the side of a car and holds him there.

 

“‘Was gonna say the same thing to you, how was prison?”

 

“I got out.” Leather jacket retorts.

 

“So i’ve noticed.” there was a frustrated bite in Matt’s voice. “Listen, I’m not particularly in the mood too deal with assholes like you, could result in more bones being broken than i planned on. So; i’ve brought someone who’s more than willing to deal with you.” The vigilante gestures to Spider-Man who is twisted around the streetlamp.

 

Peter almost tumbles off, kicking snow around in the process. “Um—am I qualified for this?”

 

Matt stares blandly at the younger vigilante, trying his best convey how thoroughly unimpressed he was under his mask.

 

“Oookay.” Spider-Man says, before leaping down and surging ahead of Matt.

 

Leather jacket panics for a moment. “Shit-Holy shit, Spider-Man?”

 

Peter looks at Daredevil, who motions towards the man, then lets go. Leather jacket guy immediately springs up to escape but Peter shoots a web towards him and slams him back him back into the car, not too hard, but enough to momentarily make him wince in pain as Peter slides in front of him and pins him. Matt nods approvingly.

 

“ _Alllrrright then_! Hey dude, i don’t wanna make a mess here. So you just tell this nice spider what you know okay?” Peter says, his voice chipper. “What do you know about a group of mercenaries targeting vigilantes?”

 

Leather jacket looks at him as if Peter was talking gibberish. “You serious? You sound about twelve—”

 

“Answer his question.” Matt deadpans.

 

Spider-Man stares pointedly at the man, who just looks completely confused. “Uh- other than the fact that people get hired to fuck you guys up on like a daily basis? Oh wait i think thats called the media.”

 

Peter looks towards his mentor who nods. He punches the man in the jaw. A wet sound of teeth breaking could be heard. 

“AGHWhAT THE FUCK! You on som sorta steriods??”

 

“Answer his question, or you won’t have any teeth left.” Matt says.

 

Leather Jacket looks at him helplessly before turning to look at the person pinning him.

“S-So you’ve heard about it— i don’t kno much— i just got outta prison, ya know?”

 

“Yeah yeah okay, what _do_ you know though?”

 

“There’s a guy— a boss— who’s got a plan and all, he ain’t Fisk though. No no he’s much more discreet about himself. But his message is clear.”

 

“Message?”

 

“You a dumb kid or what? It’s obvious man! He wants you all to stop interfering. Stay off the streets and let crime go on. Its a natural process, ya know?”

 

Spider-Man tightens his hold around the mans neck. “Uh, _no_. I don’t know.”

 

Daredevil steps in. “How did you find out about all this? Did he hire you?”

 

The mans eyes widen. “The boss dude? No way man. As far as i know he’s like a myth or somethin’.” Peter’s grip tightens. “I swear! Look—“ the guy splutters. “Two people, they go by the names Jake and Jill. Like the nursery rhyme ya know?”

 

“Isn’t it Jack and Jill..” Peter ponders. Daredevil grumbles.

 

“Focus, Spider-Man—Who are these people?”

 

“Mercenaries? I dunno man, they didn’t look like people who got they hands dirty though— they found me a day after i got out, promising me a large sum of money if i killed a certain target at an exact date and time.”

 

Peter narrows his eyes in interest. “They tell you why?”

 

The man shakes his head. “N-no. It was just a straight up job offer. No reason! I didn’t accept, but a frien’ of mine did— thats how i know what this is about, ya kn—”

 

Daredevil walks closer. “Why didn’t you accept?”

 

“H-Hey man, i know not to mess with you an’ all.”

 

“Why would you be messing with Double-D here? You’ve clearly got no problems in breaking out of jail.” Peter accuses.

 

Leather jacket turns his head to look at Daredevil instead of Peter. 

“I ain’t stupid man, i know you got affiliations with that law firm, Nelson and Murdock. Both of you put Fisk away—“

 

“What does this have to do with M— that law firm?” Peter interrupts as he notices Daredevil visibly stiffen.

 

“You ain’t the only ones who know how to get info outta people. Figures them two were doing some stalking around Hell’s KItchen, bumping around, ya know?“

 

“Bumping around who? Stop talking in riddles man, only i can do that.” Spider-Man tells him.

 

“The blind one, Murdock. But I'm pretty sure they'll want his partner too.”

 

Matt surprises them both by kneeing Leather Jacket in the stomach and holding him up by the scruff of his shirt. “Where are they?”

 

Peter gasps at the new information and takes several steps back.

 

“I didn’t accept i swear! I won’t touch a hair on that guy! i won’t—“

 

“Where. are. they.”

 

“Last i saw them was a few days ago! Three days ago! i met em at that new bar that opened—“

 

“Have a good time getting out of jail again.” Matt throws the man onto the ground and gestures to his apprentice.

“Take him to the station. I’ll meet you there.”

 

Peter is frozen for a moment. “What! Where are you going?”

 

“Just do what i told you.” And with that he turns around and jumps onto a low roof—then disappears. 

 

Peter raises his hands in disbelief. “Seriously?”

 

“Ey kid” The man on the ground looks up at Spider-Man. “He your dad or somethin?”

 

“Shut up.” Peter webs his mouth. 

 

-

 

 

 

 

“Turn around and put your hands in the air!”

 

Spider-Man was lurking around the area after he webbed the thug to the entrance of the police station. He decided to practice a few moves and flips near a dumpster while he waited for Daredevil to show. Dont judge, he’ll do what he's gotta do.

 

No, he did not look suspicious at all, pfft— just a guy in a spandex bouncing around some trashcans— isn’t that a common sight by now?

 

He shouldn’t have been surprised to see a cop with both hands holding a gun towards him. He was pretty near the station, and making a lot of noise. Can’t blame him— he was a bit anxious waiting for his horn-headed mentor to show up—unless he ditched him.

 

Peter slowly stood up from where he was crouched on the ground after jump kicked the lid off a trash can.

 

“Um—Hey there.” He said nervously as he turned around with his hands up. “Is there a problem, officer?”

 

If he was in Queens, he’d make an escape, dodge a few bullets—not that he couldn’t here, but wasn’t exactly meant to cause any trouble here either—he’d answer to Daredevil for that.

 

The cop pointed his flashlight towards him. He took a step back.

 

“You’re that spiderman guy, with the long underwear.”

 

Peter twitched. “Uh-yes i am Spider-Man.”

 

The cop pointed his gun with more meaning this time, Peter tried not to flinch; ignoring his spider-sense.

 

“What do you think you’re doing?”

 

Peter’s mouth opens to explain but then closes it. _What am i doing?_

 

“I—“

 

The cop steps forward.

 

“I’m waiting for someone.” _Wow, that sounds so shady Peter._

 

“Sure didn’t sound like it. You causing trouble here?” The man pressed.

 

Peter’s arms had started to ache from keeping them up. He made a move to put them down.

 

“Stay where you are!”

 

 Peter stayed here he was.

 

“You’re the crazy one from Queens. Why you in Hell’s Kitchen? We already have someone flipping around in a onesie here.”

 

Peter can’t help but snicker to himself at how the man saw Daredevil. 

 

”See the gift i sent you guys? Hint; he’s covered in webs.” he quips.

 

“I should arrest you, you punk.” He says. Peter tilts his head a little. _Yeah, why wasn’t he?_

 

A light sound of boots hitting the ground could be heard behind him. Peter didn’t dare turn around.

 

“Detective.” the person says. _Its Daredevil._

 

“Two of you vigilantes at once, just my lucky day isn’t it?”

 

Daredevil does not reply. Peter doesn’t turn around, gun still pointing at him.

 

“Never thought i’d say this, but thank God you’re here.” the cop takes a step forward, lowering his gun. Peter makes a sound of confusion.

 

“He with you?” the cop gestures to Peter, who risks a glance at Matt and timidly waves at him with one of his arms that were still up.

 

Matt notices the movement and exhales. “Yes. He’s with me.”

 

“Yeah, well keep him with you then. We don’t need more trouble makers running around here.” 

 

Peter awkwardly puts his hands down as Daredevil steps into his peripheral vision. “Spider-Man, this is Detective Brett Mahoney. Detective, Spider-Man was just following my orders.”

 

“That include causing a ruckus next to the station?” Brett says, lightly though.

 

“Don’t think so.” the Devil replies, gazing at Peter pointedly. Peter scratches his neck nervously. 

 

Brett’s police radio speaks up, and he speaks into it saying that there was no trouble. Peter stares in confusion at how easily this cop let him go once the Devil arrived.

 

Brett looks up to them, pocketing his gun.

“I don’t wanna see you lurking around here throwing trashcans again, this ain’t a place to you vigilante types to hang out. And i know you ain’t from here.”

 

“Yessir.” Peter mumbles, cringing at himself. Brett gives him a look but walks away.  He lets out a breath he was holding.

 

Daredevil climbs onto the roof and starts to parkour his way through them. 

 

“Jeez, warn a guy.” Peter says as he leaps up and starts swinging behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is kind of short and maybe a filler but..it was a much needed update. (kinda not used to continuously writing but i'll get the hang of it) also the fact that waking up to comments in the morning is the best feeling. enjoy!

“So you are you going to tell me where you went?” Peter questions, as he zips up the hoodie that Matt insisted he borrow since it was so cold.

 

Matt hums disconnectedly as he shrugs on his suit jacket and they both step out of the alleyway behind what he said was his apartment. 

 

“You got class tomorrow?” He asks, changing the topic. His voice a bit uncomfortable at the thought that he had a young student out this late interrogating thugs.

 

Peter clutches his chest in mock betrayal as they enter the building.  “Really? You gonna dad me now?”

 

Matt shrugged and started climbing up the stairs, Peter already ahead of him; eager to see where he lived. 

 

“It’s almost christmas Matt, there is no scho—class. And anyways, it’s Sunday tomorrow—well today actually—i think. What time is it?—Matt?”

 

“Shh.”

 

“What?” 

 

"Shut up," Matt said.

 

“Wh—”

 

Matt made a grab for Peter’s arm, gripping it tightly. ”Shush," Daredevil growled into his ear.

 

“Ow—" Peter attempted to yell and Daredevil covered his mouth with his other hand.

 

“There’s someone here.” Daredevil whispered, his ear pressed to the door of what must’ve been his apartment.

 

“Mmmph!” Peter pushed against the lawyer. Matt removed his hand from his mouth.

 

“In your apartment?” He whispers. The older man is silent. So is Peter’s spider-sense, _no threat then?_

 

“I can hear the heartbeat— Adult male— seems to be curious about something.” Matt pauses. “He’s gone, he was on the fire escape—not inside.” He lets go of Peter’s arm, who immediately starts rubbing it. 

 

“So you have a harmless stalker. Great.”

 

Matt gazes in his direction. “Harmless?”

 

Peter shrugs. “My spider-sense would’ve told me if there was someone who actually wanted to do some damage—“

 

“Spider-sense?” Matt says amusedly as he unlocks his apartment, ushering the teen inside. “Thats what you call your slight precognitive senses?”

 

“You’re just jealous—” Peter stops once he walks inside.

 

Matt’s apartment was spacious, _very spacious_ , Peter thought.

It was so clean that the teen felt extremely out of place—but at the same time it looked like the most comfortable living space he’d ever seen, despite it being quite dark. There was a slight purple glow on the furniture that came from a billboard hung outside one of the windows.

 

Peter almost jumped when Matt stumbled in behind him, carrying his backpack which he must’ve dropped outside during the entire ‘theres a stalker inside’ fiasco.

 

“Actually, i can hear someone coming from 40 miles away, while your senses act at the exact moment— so no. Im not jealous.” He adds, dumping the backpack into Peter’s arms.

 

Peter looks around again, eyes wide. “Are you—Are you rich?”

 

Matt quirks a brow. “Define rich.” He says, walking over to the fire escape and opening it, letting a wisp of cold air inside.

 

“The man was definitely here. Smells like gunpowder, and blood. But he knows how to be discrete.” He closes it.

 

“Doesn’t every shady thug smell like that?”

 

Matt shrugs. “Like i said, this guy is discrete.” He walks over to his fridge, bending down and scouring for something edible.

Matt figured Peter would be quite hungry, seeing as he did manage to consume all that hot chocolate Karen had made, probably accelerated metabolism or something because of his powers. Not to mention he should probably eat something too.

 

“Couldn’t help but notice— _senses and all_ —but your heart rate seemed to pick up on the way back here. As if you had seen something.” He says as he decides there was nothing in the fridge, he needed to go shopping again. He sighs and looks through his cabinets.

 

Peter drops his backpack on the ground and falls back onto the couch. “Dunno what you mean.”

 

Matt stops. “Don’t do that.”

 

“Do what?” Peter asks all too innocently, turning to look at Matt from over the back of the couch.

 

“ _That._ ”

 

“You gotta be more specific—“

 

“Peter, you are a terrible liar.” 

 

“That’s not fair, you’re basically a living lie detector.” Peter makes a face that is almost close to a pout. “I just thought i saw someone i knew, okay? No big deal—nothing to do with this stalker stuff.” He says truthfully.

 

Matt gazes at Peter for a second before shrugging it off and rummaging through his cabinets again.

 

He had in fact paused on a rooftop for a moment a few buildings over from Daredevil on their way back. Peter had noticed a man in a hoodie, who happened to be looking straight at him. Peter’s spider-sense was a low hum, telling him that this wasn’t just some random pedestrian. The stare had meaning to it. Which gave him the chills seeing as he did not recognise the man under his hood. His sight could only go so far.

 

Peter slides down the couch in exhaustion, eyes drooping. It had been a long day.

 

“Who was that Brett guy? Does he know you—or are the cops here just friendly? Which i doubt because this is Hell’s Kitchen so he probably just knows you—“ his rambling was cut off from a yawn to himself.

 

Matt finds some uncooked pasta in the cabinet and starts to boil some water. “He doesn’t know who Daredevil is.” 

 

“Huh? Then—“ a yawn.  “Why didn’ he try to arrest us?” 

 

Peter can't see from his position on the couch, but he assumes Matt shrugged.

 

“He tried to arrest me, before—when i was wearing the black mask—thinking that i had killed someone; i convinced him otherwise. Now its just an empty threat, i’d say he trusts Daredevil.”

 

“Wow.”

 

“Not sure how much that will last seeing as you couldn’t stay out of trouble.”

 

Peter slumps over the back of the couch again to face Matt, who was stirring something in a pan.

 

“Hey! You decided to run off, I'm not the one who should be explaining himself.” He crosses his arms crookedly.

 

“Fair enough.” Matt hums. 

 

“Sooo… where did you go?”

 

“Isn’t it obvious?”

 

Peter squints. “You wen’ to investigate those two mercs at the bar—“ He giggles lightly to himself and starts singing the nursery rhyme.

 

Matt raises a brow at the sleep deprived teen. He walks over to the table and puts down two bowls of pasta.

 

“Yes, i did. They weren't there, of course. But i managed to track down places they frequent, and get some information on where they've already been.”

 

“Guess we got some stalking to do.” Peter grins lazily, stretching over the back of the couch till his hands touched the floor, then doing a cartwheel right onto the seat Matt had placed a pasta bowl in front of.

 

Matt felt like if he raised his eyebrows a little more they might fall off. _Was gymnastics normal symptoms for lack of sleep?_ Huh, who was he to talk, he and Foggy were weirder in college.

 

“I’m calling your aunt. You’re too sleep deprived to swing home.” Matt informed him in a voice that would accept no negotiation. Peter was unfazed, hungrily swallowing down his pasta.

 

-

 

“I’m stayin’ over at a friends house, I’ll be back ‘morrow.”

 

“And you decided to tell me this late in the night? Peter what is going on?”

 

Peter looks at Matt, bites his lip and replies. “Sorry ‘bout that Aunt May. I got caught up in some work at my internship—lost track of time. I—I could come home now—“

 

Matt gives him a look at the same time as Aunt May cuts him off. “Absolutely not! It is too late in the night and unsafe. You go stay at your friends house.”

 

Peter yawns. “Alright, Aunt May. I’ll see you tomorrow, love you.”

 

“Love you too, Peter.” She hangs up.

 

“I could’ve handled that better.” 

 

Peter's not very convinced. “Yeah, you would’ve told her i was stayin’ with you, Attorney Matt Murdock. Which is…weird—seeing as apparently I’m your new intern and we are definitely not two vigilantes working together.” He deadpans. 

 

“She likes me.”

 

“Stop wooin’ my aunt.”

 

Matt snorts. “How many times have you made the ‘I'm staying at a friends house’ excuse?”

 

Peter groans inwardly and runs a hand through his hair. “Too many.”

 

Matt rolls his eyes.

 

“I’d let you take the bed, but you’re not injured, and also i don’t want to.” He pats the couch. “Instead you get this extremely comfortable couch.”

 

Peter could tell the couch was exactly the opposite. He grins lazily in response.

The thing he liked about Matt, was the complete monotone he used most of the time. How he completely manages to keep a straight face when making a funny comment was beyond Peter. _He never emphasises._ The most response he would get out of him was a genuine smile, that somehow seemed to have more effect than teasing or laughing.

 

He looks around the apartment, it was neat and in order. Peter grins wider, it wasn’t gonna stay that way.

“Actually, i have a better idea.”

 

Before Matt can respond, Peter is already making himself a larger version of the usual web hammocks he makes when he’s just too tired and decides to take a nap in a random alley. 

 

“Lord.”

 

“Matt, i can feel the jealousy from all the way up here.” Peter says, as he swings upside down to tie the hammock. 

 

“I’m not—“

 

“Get your own spider-nest.”

 

The lawyer smiles and shakes his head, walking into the only bedroom in the apartment.

 

“What ever it is, it should be gone in the morning.” He calls from his room.

 

Peter, the troll he is, yells back in response. “Goodnight don’t let the radioactive spiders bite because then you’ll have to change your vigilante name to DareSpider or something—“

 

“Go to sleep Peter.”

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sort of a filler chapter? maybe? i dunno. But dont worry, i have a lot planned. :)

Peter hates killers. No matter who they were. He hated them. Uncle ben was killed. Peter hates killers and the act of killing. 

 

_Then why didn’t he hate Wade?_

 

Undoubtedly, the teen’s senses proved to be right. The shady man in the hoodie was not just a shady man in a hoodie.

 

It was Wade Wilson.

 

Of course, things were starting to be a little more coincidental these days. Or maybe it was fate or whatever you believe in.

 

Peter also knew for a fact that Matt hated killers too, even though he would come quite close to it, he never seemed to cross that line. Which is why he had huge respect for Daredevil.

 

Respect or not, Daredevil wasn’t someone he wanted to mess with. He hated killers. Spider-Man had befriended Deadpool. And that man is a killer.

 

He's a mercenary and he kills, whether it was for money or something else entirely. But lately, he hasn't done any jobs—not that Peter knew of.

 

Which is why Peter only hesitates for half a second before swinging down and landing next to the man in the hoodie that was still stood where he was. 

 

_Matt doesn’t have to know._

 

“Baby Boy!”

 

-

 

 

 

Matt wakes to the rush of cold air that comes in from an open window. He wasn’t a heavy sleeper but he wasn’t a light one either; over time he had learned to block out the sounds around him, otherwise he’d be waking up every two seconds from a honk across the street or a cat meowing in an apartment three floors down.

 

The lawyer tiredly makes his way into the living room to find out that the familiar heartbeat that was meant to be here was not.

 

Matt sighs in exasperation. _Kid probably went home._

 

He walks over and closes the fire escape. _And he forgot to close the window._

 

Finally accepting that gaining the trust of a teenager—let alone another vigilante— was beyond him, he starts to stumble back into his room.

 

Matt almost trips over something then.

 

“He left his backpack?”

 

_So he didn’t run away. But where did he go?_

 

Matt trusted Peter. So the only thing he was worried about was him doing something stupid, in a part of the city that he was unfamiliar with.

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

“You on a job or something?”

 

“Wow—hello to you too, Webs.”

 

“Are you?”

 

The merc gapes at him defensively. “Why is it always about what im doin, Spidey?”

 

Spider-Man crosses his arms. “Wade. Why are you in Hell’s Kitchen?”

 

“Yanno, I could ask you the same thing.” Wade says, and Peter can make out his scarred face under his hood—a sight that he was used to by now. “You clearly aren’t saving any damsels. This is the devil’s turf anyways, thats his job.”

 

Peter sighs inwardly. He admits was being a bit of an unfair asshole to the merc. The dude wasn’t always on a job, heck, he wasn’t even wearing his trademark red and black suit right now.

 

“Fair point.”

 

“Speaking of hornhead, why hasn’t he sniffed me out yet?”

 

Peter falters for a moment then shrugs. “Uh, dunno.”

 

Deadpool tsks. “Liar Liar, spandex tights on fire— you’re such a bad liar.”

 

Peter yawns. “So they keep saying.” He was too tired for this, maybe he shouldn’t have snuck out.

 

“C’mon Webs, i saw you two heading somewhere on that roof. We made eye contact!”

 

Peter flushes. 

 

Wade waves his hand in front of the teens face. “You’re even starting to act like him! No quips? Staring into space? Don’t do this Baby Boy!”

 

Peter slaps his hands out of his face. “I was helping Daredevil out on something—I was just about to leave—“

 

Maybe he couldn’t lie, but he could make excuses like hell.

 

“Double di—dong—- _thats not much better_ —DD let you help him? I’d say im not jealous but—-Im jelly Webs.”

 

Peter scrunches up his nose but laughs. “DeeDee?”

 

“How else do you pronounce it?”

 

“Uh—Double D?“

 

“That sounds like a boy band, i vote DD! Try not to get punched in the neck when you call him that. Healing factor or not, it ain’t pleasant.”

 

Peter pauses. “Wait, you’ve met before?”

 

“Yaaaaaaaas!— _did i really just say that—shut up yellow I'm talking to webs_ — i helped him track a baddie down once. Well, he won’t admit that.”

 

The teen quirks an eyebrow at the inner exchange the merc had with himself. Probably the voices he keeps talking about.

 

“So he punched you in the neck?”

 

“In the most friendly way—Im sure, for a devils standards.” Wade hums. “I was being a clingy girlfriend.” The merc adds, making the younger vigilante snort. 

 

He then hunches, raising his hands up to make devil horns and lowers his voice into a mocking tone. “Stay out of Hell’s Kitchen, Wilson. No jobs here.”

 

Spider-Man bursts out laughing at the impression. “Okay, you weirdo. I have to go.”

 

“Aw! Already? I was thinking we could get some tacos together.”

 

Peter hesiates for a moment.

 

_Matt could wait i suppose._

 

“Sure, why not.”

 

-

 

Peter’s scent of webbing wafted into the apartment and Matt took another sip of his coffee as the teen scrambled in from the fire escape’ oblivious to the older mans presence.

 

He takes off his mask and tosses it onto the table.

 

Except that it did not land on the table.

 

It was caught.

 

“Matt! You’re awake!” Peter stopped suddenly, his eyes wide like a deer in the headlights. 

 

“Hm.” Matt confirms, putting the mask down and continued using his hands to skim over some papers in front of him.

 

Peter frowns, his bloodied lower lip jutting out slightly. “Uh—“

 

“You went out.”

 

“…I did.”

 

“Any particular reason?”

 

The younger shrugs vaguely—his heart beating fast, a movement that Matt had to pay attention to to notice over his loud heartbeat.

 

“You are different than from a few hours ago.”

 

 “Yeah? What was your first clue?”

 

“I smell copper, you’ve hurt yourself.”

 

“Stopped some muggers on the way back. Nothing to worry about DD—I mean—Double-D.” Peter snaps his mouth shut. _Way to go Parker._

 

“I didn’t say there was.”

 

Peter opens his mouth to say something but then the older man almost too casually turns in his direction.

 

“Since when have you been teaming up with Deadpool?”  Matt asked, voice astoundingly neutral.

 

This is it. This is where he gets beaten up by the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and gets banished from his territory or whatever. _Im an idiot, what was i thinking._

 

Peter knows how Matt feels about killers. _Let alone mercenaries._

 

He’s ruined everything.

 

“Was he on a job?”

 

“—N-No! No—Uh he was just—following me i think—wanted to—eat tacos—“ Peter trailed off. _Help._

 

Matt nods, his shoulders relaxing. “You looked like you had fun.” He makes a dopey face at the teen. Something that Peter would’ve laughed at if he wasn’t so shocked.

 

“I-Wha—Huh?”

 

Matt continues reading his damn papers.

 

“That’s it?”

 

“What?”

 

“You aren’t mad? Or concerned that im hanging out with a crazy mercenary who enjoys mexican food—“

 

Matt cuts him off before he can continue rambling. “Should i be?”

 

“Uh—“

 

“Is he still in Hell’s Kitchen?”

 

“No.”

 

“Was he on a job?”

 

“Doubt it.”

 

“Does he make you uncomfortable?”

 

Peter flushes and shakes his head. “No not at all—“

 

“Peter.” Matt says, gently, “I trust your judgement. If you aren’t worried and if your spider-sense doesn’t think anything is off, than i shouldn’t be concerned.” He explains. “But i am a little mad that he was in Hell’s Kitchen and if i sense him here i will—“

 

“Kick him into the next dimension?” Peter snorts, then smiles, but it slips away as he spots his mentor’s scowl deepen. 

 

“Deadpool kills people for money. He’s the same as the rest of any mercenary or criminal out there.” Matt says. “I’ve worked with him before. It’s almost impossible to read him, he is extremely unpredictable.”

 

Peter is silent as Matt continues. “Though his intentions can be good most of the time, you know he isn’t right in the head. Trusting him is not something i would do. He kills without a second thought, when there is money involved.”

 

“He doesn’t when I team up with him!”

 

“Im telling you not to trust him, Peter. Especially not now, when there are mercenaries out for us. He happens to be a very skilled one.”

 

“Okay—“

 

“Keep your identity to yourself.” Matt said, as if it wasn’t obvious. “You don’t want to risk putting yourself in danger. Like i said, he’s unpredictable, he also has way more experience than you.”

 

“Wow. Okay. Geez. I heard you.” Peter rocked back on his heels. “Way to rub it in.”

           

Matt grins finally. “Just some advice, vigilante to vigilante.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great holiday, i did- seeing as i was obviously to occupied to update oops haha.  
> But i did keep checking the comments and it was very interesting to read what you guys thought! Anyways, i should be updating more frequently soon so don't forget to give me your feedback on where you think this story is going because quite frankly, I'm not sure myself lol.

 

“I’m fine, you know. You didn’t have to come all the way here.”

 

“I know.”

 

“So why have you? A social call? Doesn’t sound like you. Come to make an impression on my aunt?”

 

“Im just dropping you home, Peter.”

 

“What’s going on? You seem pretty worked up given that you aren't fighting crime and are walking down the street with another vigilante in disguise—wow that actually does sound a bit nerving.”

 

Matt does not respond and Peter takes that as a green light to start being the little shit he is.

 

_“Makin’ ma way downtown—“_

 

“Peter.”

 

_“Walkin’ fast—“_

 

“Pete—“

 

_“Faces pass—“_

 

“There is an old woman staring at us through her window and I'm assuming that she’s your aunt because this entire neighbourhood smells like you.”

 

“ _And I’m_ —Wait what—“ Peter looks around to realise they have in fact already reached his house and his aunt is in fact staring at Peter with an amused/confused expression. “Oh.”

 

“I should be going then—“

 

Peter grabs onto Matt’s arm. “Seriously? You came all the way here, the least you could do is come inside and say hello.”

 

Matt raises a brow at the teen. 

 

“Hey, you introduced me to Karen, so now i introduce you to Aunt May.”

 

Matt exhales. “Alright then.”

 

 

 

-

 

 

“Aunt May, this is Matt Murdock. Matt, this is my Aunt.” Peter introduces them.

 

Matt smiles a polite smile. “Nice to meet you Mrs Parker.”

 

“Please, call me May.” She tucks a strand of her hair back. “I should thank you for letting Peter intern at your firm, he was so excited to go when he left yesterday morning.”

 

With a slightly raised eyebrow, Matt says “Oh?”  
There’s a smile twitching at the corner of his lips and his shoulders are relaxed.

The tips of Peter’s ears turn red as he whines. “Aunt May—“

 

“Now Peter, i hope you are doing well at your internship, Mr. Murdock is a very good attorney.”

 

Matt smiles at Peter’s embarrassment. “Peter’s very helpful.”

 

“Ah yes he’s always been such a hard worker.” She says fondly while looking at her nephew. “Peter, where did you get that?” Aunt may puts a had on his face, where he had a bruised lip.

 

“Uhm I—“

 

“Was this your friend? The boxing one? Peter i told you i don’t like when you do things like this.”

 

Matt raises a brow but doesn’t question them.

 

“Aunt May—“

 

“You stayed at his house didn’t you?” She says worriedly. Peter doesn’t know what to say, its the perfect lie for all his bruises and nights out.

 

“If you’d like, Peter can stay at my apartment if he ever has to work late.”

 

Aunt May looks at Matt as if he is the purest angel she’d ever seen. “Oh what a wonderful idea. If its no trouble.”

 

“Not at all.” Matt smiles charmingly at her, looking all the world like a charismatic, well-mannered lawyer. Peter rolls his eyes. How this man was the Devil of Hells Kitchen still surprised him.

 

“What a nice gentleman you are, thank you for dropping my boy off, why don;t you come inside and i’ll get you a cup of coffee—“

 

“Oh no problem, i had some errands to run here anyways, i should get going, maybe another time.”

 

Aunt may smiles softly. “Oh alright, it was lovely meeting you dear.”

 

Matt gives off another adorable smile before Aunt May walks back into the house. Peter however runs after Matt and stands in front of him.

 

“Errands?” He questions, crossing his arms.

 

Matt shrugs, gazing down at the younger with his red tinted glasses. “In a sense.”

 

“Do these errands involve—“

 

“Possibly.”

 

Peter bounces on his toes. “Then I should come too! I’ll just tell Aunt May im helping you out on a case—“

 

“No.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I told you to lay low for the moment, only patrol when you have to or when you are needed. I can handle this on my own for now.”

 

Peter is about to pout before he squints at the lawyer. “You have a lead or something?”

 

“Its the two mercenaries. I—well—A contact of mine informed me of their whereabouts. They seem to have a meeting place of some sorts here in Queens.”

 

“A contact—?” Peter catches. “So why can’t I come? We’re a team!”

 

“You don’t have to handle everything on your own, kid. I’ve got this, go to your Aunt.” Matt lightly shoves Peter towards his house. “I’ll see you soon.”

 

“Wha—Matt!”

 

“Peter! What are you still doing outside?” His aunts voice can be heard. Matt takes that as his cue to leave as Peter huffs and walks inside his house.

 

 

 -

 

Aunt May was definitely pleased about Peter’s supposed internship, and even more impressed by Matt, she wouldn’t  stop for a while about what a fine person he was for Peter to learn from. If only she knew about his extracurricular activities. Then again, he was pretty effective in that area too.

 

The good thing about Matt was that even though he prefers to keep Spider-Man out of the more dangerous tasks, it wasn’t because he thought Peter wasn’t good enough. Which was new, and reassuring. Most people saw Spider-Man as the child friendly local hero, always trying to stop some kind of animal themed villain from destroying the city and what not. 

 

The Avengers, though he got along with most of them, often underestimated him. It’s good Peter managed to keep his identity from them otherwise who knows what they’d think about a kid his age swinging from skyscrapers every night.

 

So it was refreshing to know that Peter was only benched for the moment in order to protect his only family.

 

Speaking of his only family, Peter was busy finishing up his holiday homework—really, who gives homework on holidays?— when Aunt May had gotten a call from work. She was called from the hospital to go out of the city to tend to a few patients for a week with some other nurses.

 

“A week?”

 

“I know Peter, i didn’t want to leave for so long but I'm needed, you have to understand.”

 

“W—No of course Aunt May, you go. I’ll be fine.”

 

“Are you sure sweetie? I could just—“

 

“N-No I'm sure!” It was best that Aunt May was as far as possible from potential danger, Peter decided as he thought of an excuse to encourage her to leave. “I can just stay at Matt’s right?”

 

Aunt May furrows her brows slightly before smiling warmly. “Alright then. But then you have to promise me something dear.”

 

Peter made a noise of confusion.

 

“You must invite that young man over for dinner, when i come back on Christmas. No arguments. And that girl Karen as well.”

 

Peter widened his eyes. “W-Wha—for dinner? thats not really necessary—“

 

“Peter, anyone that can make you happy is necessary.” She said sweetly. “Call Gwen too. It’s been years since we’ve had company over.”

 

Peter opens his mouth to protest but decides against it after seeing the look on his Aunts face. She was right, its been ages since they've properly celebrated christmas, ever since he lost his uncle.

 

He just wasn't sure how one went about inviting the Devil of Hells Kitchen over for christmas dinner. It’s like if you say the wrong thing he’d stare into your soul and judge your life decisions—weird for someone who was actually blind.

 

-

 

Daredevil moved quickly and gracefully, but also brutally. Connecting his fist with a mans face as he held him against the wall, and at the same time elbowing the woman who attempted to stab him backwards.

 

“Im gonna ask again. Who exactly did you give targets to?”

 

Jake, despite his position, snorts at the vigilante. “Does it look like i made a damn list to you, Devil?”

 

There was a loud snapping sound, and he screeched in pain. It sounded like the breaking of fingers. Jill winced from her position on the ground, clutching her stomach.

 

“Wrong answer.”

 

“agh—I don’t fucking remember. Just some random losers who would do anything at the promise of a few bucks.” He sneers.

 

The vigilante growled in frustration.

 

“Call them off.”

 

“ _Call them off_ —“ The man repeats and starts cackling, his sister joining in. “Ha!”

 

Now the amount of violence the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen inflicted to get what he wanted varied, but these few days, it had started to reach the top of the scale as his anger and anticipation due to the current situations fuelled him. 

 

Which is why it was best to just give him what he needed.

 

Two broken ribs, teeth, wrist and fingers later; nothing.

 

Was he loosing his touch? Or did these mercenaries just really did not give a shit anymore?

 

“Call. them. off.” He says, his voice low and dangerous.

 

“Do what you want to us, they won’t stop.” Jake continues to cackle, his voice strained from his broken ribs. “Better watch over your little friends.”

 

Another snap, followed by another scream. Followed by more villainous cackling, but by Jill instead.

 

“Didn’t think the Devil had a weakness.” She finally spoke. “My brother is right, our hired mercs find the people you care for, in a matter of time.”

 

“They won’t get to them.”

 

“Don’t worry, if they won’t, our others will. You stop them, more will come. There’s only one thing you can do.”

 

“And that is?”

 

“Give up the job, Devil.”

 

“Not gonna happen.”

 

“Have it your way.” She says. “You’re not the only one who wants change, you know.”

 

Matt growls lowly. “And the other would be your employer.”

 

“This city is already corrupted, theres no use saving it. Just let us roam and get off the streets!”

 

“That’s where you’re wrong.” He rasps.

 

She ignores him. “You’ll see, when boss gets his hands on Spider-Man—“

 

Matt stops her. “What does he want with him.”

 

Jill raises her brows. “Oooo, concern i see.“

 

A dull thud could be heard as Matt dropped the unconscious brother on the ground and stood threateningly at the woman.

 

“What does he want with him?” He repeats, again using his interrogation voice.

 

Jill stares blankly at the horned vigilante. “His powers, you dumbshit. Think of all the things he could do.“

 

“Why Spider-Man? How do you know he has powers that can be used—“

 

“You underestimate us, horn head. We aren't blind. Spider-Man is the most reckless, uncoordinated, head-first into the crime scene vigilante. No one could just swing into danger like that if they didn’t have powers or a healing factor. Trust me, best example for that is Wade Wilson.”

 

Daredevil’s frown became deeper.

 

“And he quite obviously has super strength, other wise our guys wouldn’t have come back looking like a truck hit them. And our guys are _skilled_.”

 

Matt would've beamed at that if he hadn’t been so worked up about this.

 

His head down, fists clenched, he inhaled. “Too bad.” He said, raising a fist. “You’re not getting to him.” 

 

And with that she was knocked out.

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i may have gotten a little philosophical towards the end. this chapter is mostly dialogue that i had to get through and yeah.. um enjoy.  
> btw, I'm going to a smol comic con in my city and I'm cosplaying as Daredevil so wish me luck lol i hope i can pull it off. i spent most of my week on the costume which is why this chapter is a bit short, sorry heh.   
> leave a comment of what you think!

 

It seemed as if the more calm things were the more trouble was being caused. The silence, anticipation, had Matt on edge and—call him insane but— he was really starting to miss having to deal with Russians and ninjas.

 

The lawyer couldn’t help but feel so helplessly blind—oh the irony— in this situation.

 

Daredevil was great at dealing with organised crime, ninjas, drug lords. Other than that, muggers, thieves,— piece of cake, all he really had to do was intimidate them— rapists, murderers, kidnappers— was his alternative to punching a bag at Fogwells, those were the kinds that really made him bring the devil out.

 

But what was happening now, was neither. All it was, was a threat just hanging there. A threat towards the people he loved and cared about. A threat towards his entire life. And Peter’s.

 

Matt hit the punching bag harder.

 

Peter was young, he wasn't sure exactly how young, but he was a student, in both of his lives. He had lost so much, and he was trying to use what happened to him for the better. Except for how painfully naive he could be, Matt only saw strength in his will and determination.

 

Peter didn’t deserve this. He was too good for his own good.

 

Matt hit the punching bag harder. 

 

It wasn't even organised crime, it was all over the place. Unpredictable. _Anonymous._

 

Pretty much how Fisk started out, except, the entire organisation or whatever it was was anonymous to each other. They all just answered to one anonymous leader who may or may not even exist.

 

It was practically like a religion.

 

They all had one goal.

 

To end vigilantism. To use their loved ones against them.

 

Matt hit the—

 

“Sheesh Matt, what’d the poor punching bag ever do to you?”

 

Matt would’ve actually almost jumped if it wasn’t for his high level of self control. He was too far down in his thoughts to even bother to pay attention to the second presence that entered the room.

 

He stepped away from the punching bag that admittedly looked like it had been punched to the limit. Wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm, he gazed behind him slightly to acknowledge the boy’s presence.

 

“Peter.”

 

Peter waved happily at his mentor, then paused, wondering if he could tell. He opened his mouth to say something but Matt cut him off.

 

“You waved.”

 

“Are you even really blind?” Peter said jokingly as he set his backpack down and hopped next to Matt. “‘Sup horn head.”

 

“Exactly how much time do you spend with Deadpool?” Matt said in reply, noticing the new nicknames that Peter wouldn’t have dared to call him a few weeks ago.

 

Peter grinned sheepishly, taking note of Matt’s attempt to cover up his oddly edgy demeanour.

 

“What are you doing here Peter?” Matt asked, suspicion creeping into his tone. “Is something wrong? You seem surprisingly calm—“

 

“Matt.” Peter stopped the man. “I’m fine. Aunt May’s out of the city for a bit with work. So i promised her i’d come here. Stop stressing so much, it makes you look older than you already are.”

 

“I’m old?” Matt says, mock offended, almost comforted by the steady heartbeat and familiar banter.

 

“Naw.” Peter laughs and shakes his head. “Who comes to the gym in the middle of the night?”

 

“I do. As you already seem to know.” Matt looked like he was eyeing him behind his glasses.

 

“Well…um—I kindamaybesorta called Karen and Karen called Foggy and he said you’d probably be here. Or at church— but its the middle of the night so the gym seemed more likely.”

 

“Huh.” Matt said. “Good to know one of your senses is still working.”

 

“Wha—Which one?”

 

“Your common sense.” Matt says, grinning devilishly.

 

Peter gapes and sticks his tongue out at the older man. 

 

“Didn’t know you were Catholic.” Peter tilts his head. “And i thought the lawyer by day vigilante by night was ironic. Is everything about you just contradictory to each other?”

 

The lawyer grins a little and goes to zip up his duffle bag, but pauses. 

 

“You said your Aunt was out of the city?” He started to ask but got interfered by the teen mumbling a ‘yep’ and nodding in confirmation.

 

“That’s good. She’ll be safer and away from this for a while.”

 

“Uh—Yeah i guess.” Peter rocked back on his heels, looking around the darkened gym. “She won’t be back until Christmas. Which um— by the way—“

 

“She wants me to come for dinner.”

 

Peter’s eyes widen in bewilderment. “Y-Yeah—um—Jeez, you Matt Murdock or Sherlock Holmes? How can you possibly—“

 

“Your voice took on the same tone Foggy’s did when he was about to invite me over the first time for christmas.”

 

Peter makes a noise that's mostly air, and crosses his arms, trying to not look completely flustered and failing. “So—So will you—I mean—you don’t have to, you must have other plans—i mean—“ Peter splutters over the words, but Matt understands.

 

“Of course, why not.” He gives the teen a gentle smile, which fades shortly. “But there are some things that need to be done before we get comfortable for things like this.”

 

Peter, now feeling lighter than he was when he arrived, catches the tone of determination and seriousness in his mentors tone.

 

“What do we have to do?” He asks, ready to listen.

 

“Investigate.”

 

Peter makes a face. “Not more interrogations.” he whines.

 

“No, not necessarily. _But—_ ”

 

“Theres always a but.”

 

“We do have to find a common factor between our enemies, apart from their goal in getting us to give up the masks.” Matt leans against the boxing ring. “The smart thing is to get to the leader, _cut the head of a snake and the body dies._ ” He repeats, something he said to Claire when he was trying to get to Fisk. “But there is absolutely nothing—no connection to anyone that could have started this.”

 

Peter listens intently, then springs forward next to Matt again. “Didn’t you go ‘talk’ to those nursery rhyme morons? Weren’t they pretty much organising the mercs?”

 

There was something about this kid that just craved closeness and attention. The witty humour, over efficiency, and complete friendliness towards Matt despite his dry responses just proved his need for some sort of approval. Matt couldn’t help but feel a little pain in his chest at how Peter’s heart was beating as he looked up at the older vigilante in complete trust and admiration.

 

All he had done was acknowledge him, then shown some interest in helping him. And even after he had pushed the kid away—thinking he wasn’t determined enough, Peter had came running back, insisting that he needed Matt to get through this.

 

Did no one acknowledge him? Spider-Man had helped out the Avengers on a few occasions, did they not see him as good enough as Matt did?

 

Matt felt a twinge of guilt as he remembered how he kept putting him down and trying to get Peter to give up the gig when he was just trying to make his place as a vigilante, only to now have an entire task force of mercs doing the same towards them.

 

“….Matt? Hellooo? Thats the second time you’ve sort of spaced out with a constipated expression on your face, except now you're not punching a bag.”

 

“Huh—what?”

 

“ _I said_ , didn’t you go see those mercs?”

 

Matt nods patiently in confirmation, rubbing a palm across his face and picking up his glasses from where they were placed next to his duffle.

 

Sensing Peter’s curiosity still lingering, Matt sighs and gazes in his direction.

 

“They weren’t as useful as i presumed they might’ve been. They only proved the anonymity of the situation.”

 

“Um—what?” Peter says dumbly.

 

“Basically, all they were doing was professionalising the whole thing. Rounding up qualified mercs, giving them targets, like a task force—except—“

 

“Except it wasn’t as professional?” Peter guesses.

 

“Yes.” Matt nods, finally sliding his glasses on. “They weren’t keeping track of their mercs. And were unsure of the existence of their boss themselves.”

 

“So no head of the snake then.” Peter decides. “That could be possible, right? This all could've just started out as an idea.”

 

“Everything starts out with an idea, Peter. Well—“

 

“You’re a _lawyer_ Matt, not a philosopher. Just—If this is just solely based on an idea, or like, a common goal; then things could get out of hand. Its not under anyones control, since anyone could decide to do anything.”

 

“Obviously.” Matt says, not quite catching on to the younger’s rambling.

 

“That makes it dangerous.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And easy.”

 

“Ye—Easy?”

 

“Yeezys are expensive pointless shoes, you could just do that sock and heel DIY—“

 

“Peter, what?” Matt stops him. “This is the opposite of what you would call easy.”

 

“Okay, maybe obvious then.”

 

Peter hangs off the side of the boxing ring swaying around as he spoke, “You said he have to find a common factor between these guys right? Apart from the obvious idea to get us to stop, whatever it takes?”

 

Matt’s face is blank, Peter continues, hopping off the ring.

 

“Except, the idea _is_ the common factor!” He says enthusiastically. “Not everyone wakes up in the morning, thinking ‘oh im gonna threaten some vigilantes to stop messing with the natural crime happening’. Its only like-minded people. Now I'm not one to stereotype—okay maybe i am but— _Matt_. Its the people themselves.”

 

“And those types of people would be—“

 

“Mercenaries—anyone with experience. I know that doesn't narrow things down, but it definitely rules out your ordinary thug or mugger.”

 

“And what are you suggesting? A database search for all the info on qualified mercenaries?”

 

“No, God no. No one wants to hack SHEILD for info, although i most definitely can.” He assures him. “No, theres this thing, its called Facebook, Matt. Or twitter or instagram. You should get one, it’d keep you up to date with all your villain friends.”

 

Matt frowns a little. “You are enjoying this too much.” _Kid was too smart for his own good._

 

Peter grins, making a small ‘heh heh’ sound. “Its not everyday you get to explain the lead you have to the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. Now if you’ll lend me your computer—“

 

Matt rolls his eyes behind his glasses. “Yeah yeah, okay. I’ll go with your plan. But, on one condition.” 

 

“Whats that?” Peter perks up.

 

Matt grins. “One round of sparring in the ring first.” He says suddenly as he tackles the kid, who yelps in response.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> our two vigilantes find some trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello yes, yes i know it has been a while and i apologise for my lack of motivation. but alas (did i really just say alas wow i never talk like this) i have come forth (srsly wtf is up with me) with a slightly longer chapter than usual. if there are any errors or things that make no sense then its cuz i generally suck at writing but anyways, enjoy, and leave a comment (I'm not desperate i swear okay maybe i am okay ill stop now)

The rest of the week was spent by the two huddling together in the cold on rooftops, doing a bit of sparring here and there to keep warm—but mostly spying on a few of the names and locations that (thanks to Peter’s very effective social media search) they had acquired.

 

The horned vigilante wasn’t very talkative, but he was mildly humoured at Spider-Man’s presence and enthusiasm. 

 

Not to mention Matt had gotten used to the luxury of having Peter web things towards them. Saved a lot of time and energy flipping across rooftops. Well except dealing with criminals. No one is allowed to web up his potential punching bags. Yes, maybe he has anger issues, he’s the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen.

 

Let a devil live okay?

 

 

Five out of six of the mercenaries they had managed to track down all used the same types of guns. Matt decided that there may actually be a common source for these weapons. 

 

Peter….was unsure.

 

Though he tried not to show it, the thought of tracking down mercenaries like this made him feel extremely uncomfortable. Deadpool used the same types of weapons as well. These mercenaries were no different. Did he just treat the man differently because he could crack a few good jokes?

 

But this was the plan. And this was how they were going to do things, his feelings could wait.

 

“Matt, just because—“

 

“They aren’t just the same type. They all smell of the same factory they were made in. i’d call it a coincidence if it was two. But these are five mercs with the exact same ammo.” 

Daredevil says in a complete monotone. Peter's not very convinced.

 

He growls whilst attaching a web to the building opposite. “Okay, but, just because they _smell_ the same—“

 

“Peter, If something is bothering you, i suggest you tell me.” 

 

Peter makes an indignant sound. “Yeah— _okay no_ —“

 

“Thought so.” Matt says casually as he flips onto the next roof.

 

There wasn’t such a thing as a quiet night in New York. Noise reached through every neighbourhood, people chatting, music blaring through cars driving by, teenagers messing around, cats meowing. Which is why it was important the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen knew the difference between which sounds meant trouble and which sounds were just plain annoying.

 

Which is also why in a span of half a second, Peter’s spider-sense had practically screeched at the base of his skull before he saw a blur of what was meant to be a man charging towards him who was now being shoved backwards by Daredevil.

 

The next second the man is on the ground, and Matt is standing above him with blood dripping off his gloved knuckles. He resumes his attack, and Peter grimaces. There’s so much blood.

 

“Daredevil.” He says but it comes out a whisper. “Stop.”

 

Matt pauses and the blood glistens in the dim street light and only his dangerous smile is more alarming to Peter. 

That grin was probably going to haunt Peter’s nightmares.

 

Daredevil picks up a gun that had fallen onto the ground in the process and inspects it, making a sound of confirmation. “Same type, day it was made, same smell.” He tosses it to Peter who shakily catches it and holds it as if it were a bomb.

The man groans on the ground as Matt nods and steps back. “Looks like merc number seven found us, or you actually.”

 

Peter, though still a bit shaken, gives him a look. “You wouldn’t know what that looks like.” 

He gestures to the bloody but alive man on the ground, and waves the gun around. “Hey man, where’d you get this from?” He asks the merc, who barely understands what Spider-Man is saying to him after getting the shit beaten out of him. Peter grimaces again.

 

Matt gives Peter a look in his general direction that told him to zip it and let him do the talking.

 

Peter doesn’t, because he's like that. “Bit much, don’t you think Daredevil?” He says, referring to Matt’s brutal methods, and puts the gun on the ground.

 

“He is a mercenary, and was about to kill you, and has killed others before. Are you saying it wasn't justified?” A dangerous tone.

 

Yeah okay, arguing with a lawyer, hard. Arguing with Daredevil, better plan your funeral, friend. Peter thought as he shook his head immediately, then winced because Matt was blind, then winced again because he could probably still tell.

 

“well, i mean.” He clears his throat. “I could—i could’ve handled that myself.”

 

“What would you have done?”

 

“Woulda..ducked and—“

 

Matt stares at Peter unimpressed as he trails off. 

 

“We’re trying to catch them, not play tag—“ He stops and snaps his head down, as if he heard something. Peter’s enhanced hearing also picks it up a few seconds later.

 

The loud sound of a gun shot in the distance startles both of them. The man on the ground starts laughing weakly.

 

“He was a distraction.” Matt says flatly, getting into a stance.

 

“They know we’re onto them?” Peter yells, panicking as Daredevil stiffens noticeably and quickly throws himself behind what looks like a chimney on the roof that they're on. He grabs Spider-Man’s arm to drag him down with him. They hit the ground side by side, just as bunch of gunshots ring out above them.

 

Realising they cant stay there forever, the two spring into action, moving swiftly out of the way of each bullet aimed towards them.

 

Soon they were surrounded, and extremely outnumbered by several armed men. Daredevil could hear Spider-Mans heartbeat and panicked breathing.

 

“Peter.” He says, very, very lowly. They’re practically back to back with each other now. “Don’t have a panic attack on me.”

 

“Wh—You cant just tell me not to— It doesn't work like that!” He retorts, subconsciously pressing his back against the older vigilante. 

 

Dealing with large numbers of actual killer mercenaries, with guns aimed straight at you, he never thought it would get this far. 

 

When Peter put the suit on, he expected to be dealing with more car thiefs, bullys and muggers, or the occasional freak accident animal villain. And he would have been able to keep himself and Aunt May safe from people who wanted to hurt him. 

 

Which would have worked out just fine.

 

But this, he wasn’t prepared for. So yes, he was having a minor panic attack.

 

 

“Peter you need to breathe—“

 

“I can’t—“

 

“I will work you so hard if you don’t calm down right now— Yeah, deep breath.”

 

“We’ve got em cornered, yep. Both of them.” A merc to Peter’s right says into what looked like was a walkie talkie. Seriously, who used those anymore? 

 

“Hand over Spider-Man.” The man says, looking straight at Daredevil.

 

“Make me.” He challenges, his aggressive side taking over as he grips Peter’s arm.

 

Realising that him freaking out was not about to help the situation, the arachnid themed vigilante manages to pull himself together just enough for him to do what he does best—stalling.

 

“Well why don’t you just ask me? I’m right here you know, its rude to talk about people when they're right there.” He says, as his voice returns to its normal pitch of witticism.

 

“Spider-Man.” The man says, in greeting. He must be the one leading this group of mercs, since the others have the most constipated soldiery looks on thiers faces that Peter has ever seen. “If you come with us quietly, no one has to get hurt.”

 

Spider-Man fakes a thought. “Hmm, somehow i doubt that. Seeing as you all are mercenaries. By the way, the 1950’s called, they want their walkie talkie back.”

 

Matt would be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed in Peter’s play for time in the midst of around fifteen men surrounding them with guns.

 

Of course, if Matt was alone he could make his way out of this situation with a bit of effort. But right now these men were armed and all aiming at them, he couldn’t risk Peter’s life for one wrong move.

 

While the younger stalled, Daredevil takes a moment to calculate his movements.

 

“Why don’t you just give up?” The man asks. Was he really attempting to negotiate while aiming fifteen guns straight at them?

 

“I don’t know, why don’t you?” Peter taunts.

 

“Crime is natural. It is needed for this city to live, you heroes will never understand that.”

 

“Well, you know what they say dude. ‘Saving people, hunting things, the family business.’”

 

Daredevil grumbles lowly. Peter gets the message, he gets into a stance.

 

There is a brief moment, and Peter feels like he can see it in slow motion, as bullets start to whiz past him and he leaps towards the man in front of him, kicking him just enough to knock him out against the wall of the building next to them. He swiftly webs his gun to the brick wall before springing onto the next man and efficiently webbing him and his gun to the wall.

 

Spider-Man is about to take a swing at the third guy when his spider sense screams at him and he manages to leap out of the way of two bullets aimed at him. The momentary distraction allows the shooter to hit him in the stomach with his gun.

 

Peter doubles over, groaning as the third man takes advantage of his unexpected pain and gets a few punches onto him.

 

The shooter, who turns out to be walkie talkie guy, plants his knee on the vigilante’s chest.

Peter wheezes as his ribs protest the treatment, creaking with enough force to crack. He moves to the side, kicking his legs and managing to slam the guy into the wall, creating a dent. However, before he could get out of there, walkie talkie recovered, and leapt, shoving him into a choke hold.

“So, whaddya need me for anyway?” Peter says, struggling in his grasp, sides flaring and vision blurring. “You know, except for the not interrupting your natural crime schedule.”

 

Walkie talkie tightens his hold, and Peter is finding it hard to concentrate with the sudden lack of breath. “Your powers are useful to our employer.”

 

“So there is a big guy eh?” He croaks, craning his neck.

 

He takes a second to glance at Daredevil who is ruthlessly making his way through five mercs, hitting them across the face with their own weapons.

 

Spider-Man clenches his fists; he needed to push harder. He lets of a growl and kicks off the wall, slipping out of the mans grip and leaving a few bricks falling from his strength that was applied onto the wall. 

 

He webs to the other wall of the building opposite and passes by Matt and the whizzing bullets. He quickly swings up and kicks one of the guns out of a mercs hand, before tossing it up with his foot, causing it to land on the nearby rooftop.

 

Peter lands, stumbling slightly behind Daredevil, who dodges a punch and takes another to the jaw. He falls back briefly, but straightens up again. His breathing is laboured and his punches are loosing the accuracy they usually have whenever he’s mentoring Peter. He'd know, he's been punched in the face with one of those punches before, not a nice feeling.

 

Spider-Man looks around to asses the situation. There are about half a dozen mercenaries still surrounding the two of them.

 

Three of them are still armed.

 

His gaze meets Matt’s (sort of) for a short moment before Peter backflips out of the way of a bullet, crouching low on the rooftop. He then notices how the street below them is bustling with people, skittering backward with fright at the scene. And some of them desperately trying to film what was happening on their smartphones.

 

“We have an audience.” Peter comments as he twists in the air and lands a kick on a merc. He can feel the intense frown that would be on Matt’s face.

 

“Great.” Yep, he can hear the frown in his voice too.

 

Fortunately, they make it through without any bullet wounds. The last merc is webbed to the ground with his gun; as neither of the two vigilantes have much stamina left. 

 

Spider-Man shuddered with pain as his hand clung to his aching ribs. Who knew just a bunch of grumpy mercenaries could be such a rough fight. He might have to take a rain check on every other Hell’s Kitchen buisness.

 

“We should get out of here before the police arrive.” Spider-Man looked over at Daredevil, who looked just as battered as he was, however still standing as if he was indifferent to the pain. And dammit, there was that devilish grin. Peter shuddered a bit more.

 

“Uh huh.” the younger agrees, nodding his head in twitchy movements. “That’s enough mercenaries for one day.”

 

-

 

Daredevil can hear the thwip of webs shooting across and attaching to the edge of the tall building that he’s waiting on. He hears the sound of Spider-Man’s body gliding through the air, and the thud of his feet before he stumbles slightly.

 

“Graceful.” He comments.

 

Spider-Man mumbles a complaint faintly that Matt can most definitely hear but chooses to ignore.

 

  

“Where are you hurt?” He asks, his tone telling Peter that he couldn’t dodge the question even if he tried.

 

Peter squinted at him and thought for a second. “Umm, my neck hurts a lot, but its fine. I’m kinda dizzy and… my… ribs are killing me.”

 

“They’re broken.” Matt confirms. “Two of them.”

 

Peter gawks at him. “Dude, do you have X-ray powers i don’t know about?” 

 

“I can hear them.” Matt says, walking along the roof. “We need to get you checked—“

 

“Checked? What, no, you said no hospitals—“

 

“Don’t worry. I know a nurse.”

 

-

 

Claire is already inside Matt’s apartment when the two arrive. She hears Matt stumbling in through the window and rubs the sleep out of her eyes. 

 

”You know, i do require sleep. Unlike you vigilante— who is that?”

 

As if on cue, a short figure stumbles out of the window right after her horned friend. Claire squints in the dark.

 

“Claire this is—“

 

“…thats Spiderman.” She says dully, and she honestly is surprised at her lack of surprise. ”Since when do you team up with people, Matt?”

 

Peter awkwardly stands behind him, beaming slightly at how he was recognised on sight. Matt shrugs, admittedly painfully. Claire notices at once.

 

“Right, you're hurt. Was it ninjas?” She asks as he gets off the sofa and starts to drag Matt towards it. 

 

“No—Actually, Claire.” Matt says calmly. “I’ll be fine. Its Spider-Man with the broken ribs. I think he got hit pretty hard on the head too.” He tells her, gloved hand running over his stubbled jaw.

 

“Ah,” Claire nods, looking towards the short figure hunching over slightly.

 

Peter squawks. “Wh— I'm fine!—urgh.” he lied weakly, not wanting to discuss the extent of his injuries with this woman he just met.

 

Claire looks between the two, trying really hard not to face palm. “Oh yeah, you two have definitely been hanging out.” She puts her hands on her hips. “Alright Spidey. On the couch.”

 

Peter widened his eyes slightly behind his mask at the nurse. She seemed to be completely unfazed at how there was a second vigilante she had never met in front of her, let alone order him around.

 

Well, if you've been patching up the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, what could possibly faze you?

 

Peter gingerly makes his way over to the couch, continuously looking at Matt for confirmation. Matt seemed calm, as he casually pulled off his cowl and went into the kitchen for a beer. He seemed to trust her then, so Peter decided it was okay.

 

“You’re smaller in person.” Claire comments, looking him up and down.  

 

“Um.” Peter says, not knowing how to respond to that. He didn’t have to because the nurse is already opening a first aid kit and—man that is the biggest first aid kit he's ever seen.

 

“Alright, so where are your injuries?” She starts, already attempting to peel off a part of his suit that was slightly ripped.

 

“I think my ribs are broken?” He manages, but it comes out slightly higher in pitch than he intended. Claire immediately picks up on it.

 

“Two of his ribs are broken.” Matt confirms, coming back into the lounge area with his beer.

 

But Claire is still staring at Peter, she turns to the lawyer. “Jesus, Matt. Where did you get this kid from?”

 

“He’s from Queens.”

 

Claire actually face palms, blinking forcefully. “Yes i know that— Shouldn’t you be at home, doing your homework?” She whirls on Peter, who is watching the interaction in annoyance.

 

He tilts his head back, groaning —partly out of exasperation, mostly out of pain.  
“Ugh, seriously, this has nothing to do with my injuries—“ Peter slows down, coming to a realisation. “Uh—what— I mean – no. Why would I be—.”

 

“What the hell Matt.” She gives the lawyer a look, Matt just shrugs. Peter grunts. 

 

“Okay, whatever. You’re in pain. Im gonna need you to take your mask off to check for a concussion.”

 

“I don’t have a concussion.”

 

Claire observed him for a minute. “Do you feel dizzy?”

 

Peter shakes his head, a bit too much. Kind of like a dog shaking water off their fur after a bath.

 

“Are you in a lot of pain?”

 

“I’m fine.” He breathes.

 

 

Claire looks at him, completely not buying it. “Matt, is he in a lot of pain?” she asked purposefully.

 

Matt, on the other side of the couch now, tilts his head for a moment then nods. “He is.”

 

Peter attempts to turn around to give him a dirty look but stops as he feels a sharp pain up his chest.

 

He sucks in a breath, crossing his arms petulantly at the nurse. Yes, definitely a concussion, Claire confirms.

 

“I didn’t think there was someone more stubborn that you.” She comments tiredly to Matt, taking out a few bandages to wrap Spider-Man’s visible injuries with. “This is going to take a while.”

 

-

 

“So, you walked right into a trap. Of fifteen armed men.”

 

“Well—“

 

“Two super powered vigilantes and neither of you saw that coming?”

 

The two exchanged sheepish looks with each other. Claire was unamused. “You need to be more careful. Both of you. Especially you Matt, if you're gonna bring along—“

 

“I can take care of myself.” Peter defends.

 

“Of course you can, because you were so convinced for twenty minutes you did not have a concussion—no don’t look at me with that face, Peter—seriously, are you twelve?”

 

It had in fact taken a while of convincing to get Peter’s mask off, and tend to his injuries. Claire had to try really hard not to think about the boys age.

 

Both vigilantes had changed out of their suits, Matt in a T-shirt and sweatpants and Peter in a long sleeved shirt and worn out jeans, he had a light blanket draped around him as Claire insisted he might get a fever.

 

“So…please tell me your just teaching this kid how to be less uncoordinated and not turning him into another mini Daredevil because—“

 

“Im not— would you rather him have no one to go to for help in matters like these?”

 

“No, i’d rather he’d not being doing this at all. But none of you types listen anyways, so i hope you’re doing a good job at…mentoring.” Claire crossed her arms.

 

Peter cleared his throat.

 

Claire turns to him. “Are you sure Matt isn’t forcing you to do anything you don’t want to do right?”

 

Peter’s eyes widen. “No of course not, Matt’s great—“ Peter pauses, thinking a little. “Maybe a little harsh.”

 

Claire looks at Matt who gives Peter a look. “I am not—“

 

“You kicked me off the roof yesterday. Literally.”

 

“We were training—“

 

“What if i didn’t put my web shooters on after you told me to take them off?”

 

 _“Matt.”_ Claire has risen a brow.

 

Matt runs a hand through his hair. “No—this isn’t fair, he’s trying to make you feel bad for him—look at his face!”

 

Peter chuckles, and rubs his hands together mischievously. 

 

“I will say this again, Matt, where did you get this kid from?” Claire says in response, but both of them can hear the tone of amusement in her voice.

 

“Okay, i am going to go and actually get some sleep.” She says, picking up her duffle bag of supplies. “Please don’t do anything stupid. Both of you, again.” She points towards them.

 

“Also, Peter.” She stops before leaving. “If you ever need help, please ask for it. I know you vigilantes have big egos and stuff, but Matt and I will be there for you.”

 

Peter looks between the two who have nothing but sincerity on their faces. He nods. “Thanks Claire.”

 

Once the nurse has left the building, Peter looks at Matt, and grins at him.

 

“Is she your girlfriend?”

 

_“Peter.”_


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cri

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i would like to personally apologise for this chapter, as it has taken a drastic (and quite badly written) change from humor to sad, sad emotions. Rest in peace your feelings. But don't worry, (i say this too much and yet i still worry) next chapter will make up for it.
> 
> leave a comment on your way out! i really appreciate it! :)

It was a bit after noon when Peter woke up from having to stay awake most of the night due to his concussion. Matt had left to go to the office insisting Peter get a few hours of rest before they discussed their next moves.

 

The teen slowly lifted himself off of Matt’s bed, where he had found himself collapsing onto after the lawyer had left. The last thing he expected the Devil of Hells Kitchen to be sleeping on was _silk sheets._ But then again it made sense because of Matt’s sensitivity, which Peter also had due to his own heightened senses.

 

“We shall be together again, soon.” He announces to the bed, not really wanting to get up but at the same time wanting to stop his grumbling stomach. 

 

Yawning, he runs a hand through his hair as he makes his way over to the fridge, opening it and looking through. Matt had gone shopping since the last time he was here, seeing as there was actual edible food in the fridge except for beer.

 

Because he couldn't cook for his life without making a mess, the teen picked up the milk and found some cereal in a cabinet.

 

While chewing on his cereal, Peter actually got a good look at Matt’s apartment in the daylight, It was the neatest place he’d seen, it looked like something straight out of an ikea furniture magazine. He wondered if people actually came to visit him, but then again who would visit him, except Claire the nurse and maybe Foggy or Karen?

 

Matt had mentioned Foggy a few times, seeing as the man wasn’t extremely talkative and more reserved. But each time he did he had a fond smile on his face. Foggy—Peter wondered if that was his actual name or a nickname— was apparently his law partner, what he gathered from when he accidentally called him. But was also Matt’s best friend. 

 

The teen sighed, trying to remember what it was like to have a best friend, let alone one who you don’t have to hide things from because they know what you get up to at night.

 

He had his girlfriend, Gwen, and oh boy what would he ever do without her. She was amazing, and smart and cared so much for him. It was comforting to have someone to fall back onto, and not have to hide.

 

Shaking his emotional thoughts away, Peter placed his bowl in the sink and decided he needed to think about the problem at hand. What happened last night, he wasn’t sure if it changed things about how they were going to go about this or if they just had to be more prepared for more fights like that.

 

Peter needed to think things through before he discussed it with Matt. He stood up and walked around the living room, trying to organize his thoughts and feelings.

“..What am i supposed to do?” Peter asked himself quietly, biting his lip hard, trying to figure out what the hell was happening.

 

Peter immediately decides that the ceiling is probably a better spot for brainstorming. 

 

Bouncing off the couch and flipping onto the ceiling, Peter sticks his bare feet to the flakey paint. Relaxing slightly in his upside-down position as he felt the blood rush to his head. “So, there are about five locations that could be potential sources for these weaponry…”

 

He thought aloud to himself as he paced the ceiling upside down, occasionally swinging from a single web line, as he contemplated how to go about his next patrol with Matt. 

 

“Why do I feel extremely anxious all of a sudden—”

His spider sense began as a low hum, causing the teen to pause briefly as he furrows his brows, before it suddenly alerts him and he sways in the other direction just as something flew past where he was perched. “Uhm—that’s _probably_ why.” He says, looking around to see where the thing that flew past went.

 

What he did not expect was his eyes to meet another persons gaze as he turned around. There was a long haired man—who’s eyes widened at the sight of Peters face— stood at the roof entrance clutching a baseball bat tightly, as if ready to swing at him. Peter looks below him to see a baseball rolling on the ground after it flew past him. He looks back towards the anxious man.

 

“Did you just throw a baseball at my head?” 

 

The man does not say anything, except for widening his eyes even more than they already were.

 

“Least you could’ve done was not missed—wait, i realise that is unfair because of my senses—“

 

“You’re a teenager.” The man interrupts. “Why is there a teenager in Matt’s apartment?”

 

Peter puts a hand on his chest, mockingly. “What? I’m a— _a teenager_? Oh no! What ever will i do now?” He’s feeling a bit dramatic today.

 

The man frowns. “Why is there a dramatic teenager in Matt’s apartment?”

 

Peter’s reply is a little snarky. “Why is rapunzel with a baseball bat in Matt’s apartment?”

 

“A sassy dramatic teenager, is walking on the ceiling, in my best friends apartment—ohmygod im calling Matt—”

 

“Wait—stop!” Peter walks forward hands out in what he thinks is a non threatening gesture but the man swings his bat in front of him.

 

“I will hit you with this bat! Don’t test me, weird ceiling walking teenager!”

 

Peter waves his hands even more, easily dodging the swinging bat. “No— I'm Matt’s new intern!”

 

The man stops swinging the bat. “You’re on the ceiling! What are you talking about?!”

 

Peter sighs, realising where he was still stood. 

 

As if on cue, Matt walks into his apartment, pausing for a moment to notice the scene. He smiles slightly. “Peter, i see you’ve met Foggy then.”

 

The other two go dead silent, looking at each other and then looking at the blind lawyer stood calmly in the hallway.

 

“ _That’s_ Foggy??”

 

“That’s _Peter?_?”

 

Matt raises his brows.

 

Peter, who was more than pleased at the new information, stretches out a hand for him to shake, as if the man wasn’t just trying to smack him with a bat. “Hi Foggy! Nice to meet you!”

 

Foggy looks at him in complete disbelief, ignoring his outstretched hand. “You can’t be Peter!”

 

“You see any other Peter’s here?”

 

“But—You’re a teenager!”

 

“Yes I am!”

 

“Why are you Peter?!”

 

“Foggy—“ Matt tries.

 

Peter is starting to get slightly annoyed, he can feel the sass rising up. “You’re one to talk, who names their child after the weather?” He pulls his hand back, crossing his arms.

 

“You little—“

 

“Guys.” Matt interrupts their mini fight, although amused. “Peter get off the ceiling please.”

 

The teen mumbles a ‘sorry’ and lets his feet off the ceiling, landing lightly onto the ground. Foggy’s jaw drops.

 

“You’re Peter.”

 

Peter shoots his arms up dramatically. “Thats what we’ve been trying to tell you!”

 

Foggy puts the baseball bat down and walks down the stairs, giving his friend a serious look that made Peter feel like he might be intruding. 

 

Matt frowns, sensing the stare.

 

“Foggy—“

 

“Matt, i have my disappointed disapproving face on.”

 

The lawyer scratches the back of his neck. “I figured.”

 

“You told me Spider-Man was young. Not a little kid!”

 

“Um?”

 

Peter frowns. “Im not a little kid, you just said i was a teenager!”

 

“Yeah, thats a bit of a stretch.” Matt says as puts his cane aside, walking into the room close to Foggy.  “He doesn’t seem that young—“

 

“You can’t see!”

 

“My senses—“

 

“Did your senses tell you that he’s a child?” Foggy looks at his best friend in disbelief. “Matt, he can’t possibly be a day over sixteen.”

 

Matt is starting to feel uneasy. “What are you talking about buddy?”

 

Yes, Peter is annoyed. This always seems to happen when someone finds out his age, its why he gets treated differently from other heroes, they underestimate him and its not fair.

 

But the look on his mentor and his best friends face tells him something else completely. Its not the look the avengers give him, the look some policemen give him when they hear his voice crack.

 

This look is giving him pure anxiety.

 

Matt is frowning, sensing Peter’s rapid heartbeat after Foggy’s words.

 

“Peter.” He says as his gaze was falling on nothing in particular, and his voice his betraying the almost calm way he was stood. “How old are you?”

 

The three can feel the increasing tension growing in the room, and Matt almost looks scared to know the answer.

 

Peter stares at him, and slumps in defeat. “Fifteen.” he admits.

 

Matt snaps his head to focus on him. “ _Fifteen.”_ he says, loud and shocked. Peter flinches. 

 

Foggy is shaking his head. “He’s in highschool. Spider-Man is in highschool. Am i missing something here? Matt—”

 

Matt’s expression is unreadable. 

“—you’re letting a highschooler, take down murderers, with guns, and knives, and everything else that winds you up in dumpsters with open wounds bleeding half to death!” Foggy scolds his friend.

 

“Matt doesn’t let me do anything already! He said he had an idea of how old i was.”

 

Foggy crosses his arms. “How old did you think he was?”

 

“Maybe nineteen, seventeen at the least.” the blind lawyer says, almost silently. 

 

“Oh my god Matt.” Foggy sighs.

 

“You said you could sense—” Peter tries to defend but he knew that this was going to happen some way or another. Matt had senses, but he was still blind.

 

Matt’s expression is grim. “I didn’t think he was—“

 

“What did you think, Matt? You know how you feel about kids getting dragged into stuff like this, hell, even you were—“ Foggy stops as he sees his friends increasing discomfort. Peter’s eyes widen.

 

“His voice, its too mature. It’s too—“ He stops. And Peter feels like shit, almost like he’d been lying to Matt. Which he wasn’t but he wasn’t exactly letting him know the truth either.  Peter did sound mature in the way he did things, after all he had been through enough suffering to mature that much.

 

If Matt thought he was too young _before_ , what would he think now?

 

Peter hated the situation he was in, and he wasn't going to blame Matt for it either. He hated the fact that he was putting his mentor in this situation as well.

 

But the teen had once wondered how many people trusted Spider-Man to help them in their time of need. He wondered how many would likely get hurt if he wasn't there to help them, how many would have died because Spider-Man wasn't there when he was needed the most.

 

"I can't just stop now," he objects the unspoken thought that he knew was crossing Matt’s mind. The anger in his voice doesn't overcome his discomfort, though, except makes him feel worse.

 

Matt sweeps a hand over his face, sighing as he edges a step away, turning his face. 

 

“You know i can’t.” Peter says pointedly.

 

 _“Peter.”_ Matt says. “This isn’t—“

 

“Come on, Matt!” The teen yells angrily. This conversation was not happening again. He has a job, he’s going to do it.

 

“You already know that you are too young—“

 

“So theres an age range for this sort of thing? I’d like to see it—“

 

“You can’t just throw your life away—“

 

“And you can?”

 

“What if something happens to you?”

 

“That’s why I'm training!”

 

“Peter listen to me—“

 

“No Matt, you listen—“

 

“BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP.”

 

The two vigilantes are seething, the distance between where they stood less as they had taken threatening steps towards each other. They look at Foggy, who is holding them apart with a hand on their chests.

 

“You, kid.” Foggy turns to Peter. “I don’t care about your super-ego, or your drive for saving people or guilt or whatever it is that makes you throw yourself into danger like this. But Matt’s right. You’re fifteen, and even if it may seem that you’ve got it under control, or you’ve got what it takes—which you may, of course— it still doesn’t change the fact that this is stupid, really stupid. Brave, yeah. Selfless, sure, whatever lets you sleep at night. But c’mon kid. Fifteen. Highschool.”

 

But before any of them can protest, Foggy continues, this time poking Matt in the chest. “And you, you reckless idiot. You don’t get to tell him that, especially when you throw yourself out there as well. You know how it feels now to have someone you care about flipping off rooftops straight into danger now, don’t you?”

 

“Foggy..” Matt breathes, but it has no argument behind it.

 

“This is stupid.” 

 

“I know it is.” the teen says.

 

“Then, why?”

 

Peter clenches his hands, breathing for a moment and looking towards his feet. “With great power comes great responsibility.” 

 

The lawyers are silent for a moment, before Peter adds, “My Uncle. Said that to me before he died. He was shot.”

 

“Shit.” Foggy whispers. “Thats— Oh God.”

 

"Because of the people that will get hurt if I don’t do anything about it.” Peter adds without hesitation.

“Is it really worth it? Can’t you, you know, wait a little longer, till you’re like, maybe not a child?” Foggy suggests.

 

“No. it can’t.” No one deserved to get hurt just because he couldn’t do his job. Someone has to be there. Someone has to do something. ”It’s worth it."

 

"They get hurt anyway.” Matt says, and Peter can see he’s running out of arguments but the look on his face his giving Peter guilt. He turns that into the inner anger that had been building up lately, without thinking.

 

“So why do you try?” Peter seethes.

 

Matt sighs. “You know its different—“

 

He cuts him off with a loud burst of talking, “Is it? Is it really? We have the same reasons, Matt.”

 

“Peter—” Matt started, his voice purposefully calm.

 

“You got pushed into this didn’t you, when you were really young? Did you stop? I’ve seen you beat people up, Matt. And sometimes it really looks like you’re having fun; like thats the only reason you do it. Are you that desperate to punch people? Are you—” Peter stops, catching his breath and realising that he went too far. 

 

But instead of the angry, dangerous face he was expecting because of the teens insolence, Matt had an upset frown on his face. “Yeah.” The lawyer says.

 

“I—“ Peter tries, his eyes wide. Because thats not what he meant to say, he meant nothing that he said and he immediately hated himself for it. He’d dug himself into a very sensitive situation. Spider-Man would face it. Peter Parker… 

 

“I gotta go.” He mumbles, grabbing his backpack and stumbling out of the fire escape. Foggy watches him leap off it with surprise.

 

“Matt,” Foggy said. “What the hell?”

 

A worried expression was visible on the lawyer's face for a moment before it was replaced by his usual poker face that he kept on all the time.

 

“He’ll be back. Don’t worry.”

 

But it was he himself who was worried.

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a lot of sticking to windows, cookies, and apologies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> waddup frens? how ya been? I stayed up late to write a super long chapter, then realised i could improve the second half so i divided it into two chapters and I'm posting this one right here while i quickly edit the other one. (lol chapter math) so theres some peter/gwen here just because I'm kinda going with the amazing spiderman movies kinda sorta... enjoy it while it lasts oops lmao. do you miss wade? i miss wade. dont worry, he's making his way back in here. (peter pls grow up fast we want the spideypool) ahhh, anyways i should stop rambling and let you read. leave a comment on yer way out ily bye.

Gwen jumps a bit in her seat by her desk as she hears a thump at her window. She spins her head around to see the dopey grin thats always plastered on her boyfriends face whenever he dropped by. 

Grinning back, the blonde gets up and straightens her sweater before walking over to unlock the window and pull it open. Peter makes a happy sound as he crawls haphazardly into her room, purposefully falling onto her and wrapping his arms around the blonde, giving her a sloppy kiss.

 

“Pe—Peter stop,” She laughs between kisses as her boyfriend becomes a deadweight on her and they fall backwards onto the carpeted floor of her room.

 

“Hey there.” Peter greets, his voice breathy.

 

Gwen smiles, tucking a strand of her hair back. “Hey.”

 

Its a short silence before both of them start laughing, Gwen sits up, giving Peter a light shove. 

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

Peter quirks a brow, grin still wide on his face. “Do i need an excuse to see my girlfriend?”

 

Gwen shakes her head. “No, i don’t think so.” She eyes him knowingly. “Buuuut, that doesn’t mean you don’t have one either.”

 

Peter sighs, rubbing a hand over his face and his eyes from where he lay on the ground in front of her. “How can you tell?”

 

“You look tired, Peter. Not the kind of tired you get after a good patrol, the tired you get after something went wrong, for Peter Parker.”

 

“Suppose you’re right. Do you think you could help?”

 

Gwen pokes him in the stomach, causing him to flinch and sit up. “I know I'm right. And it depends, does it require me to create a cure for a science experiment gone wrong?”

 

“No.”

 

“Then i can. Im not particularly fond of almost being lizard bait and—“ She stops. “What’s up?”

 

Peter looks at her guiltily for what she was about to say before ducking his head and crossing his legs. “I— can i stay here, tonight?”

 

Gwen raises a brow. “Didn’t you say you had stuff do to with,“ she tilts her head. “Daredevil?”

 

“Yeah, i just came from Matt's place…” He scratches the back of his head.

 

“What happened? Does he not want your help anymore?”

 

Peter can’t help but beam at the fact that his girlfriend insisted the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen wanted Spider-Man’s help rather than him wanting his help.

 

“Not exactly. It’s more that, he doesn’t want me to risk my life and stuff doing…what i do.. i guess.”

 

“He thinks you aren’t able to?” Gwen crosses her arms.

 

“N-No! Not at all Gwen. He uh—“ Peter sighs. “Honestly, i kept thinking he was underestimating my ability to use my powers, i mean, compared to him at least. But it turns out he was worried about how young i was. How does that affect anything? I mean, if i can do it, i can do it—“

 

“Peter,” Gwen cuts him off. “For someone like him, that does make sense.”

 

“What do you mean? He should know I'm perfectly capable—“

 

“I’m pretty sure he knows you are, silly.” Gwen counters. 

 

“Then why—“

 

“Daredevil’s just a guy, under all that tough and cool that you keep talking about. Who knows the kind of traumas he must’ve been through. He was your age once, Peter. And he’s probably lost people, and knows the feeling of— heck, even i do—“

 

Peter blanches. “Gwen—“

 

“I don’t blame you for it Peter. You know i don’t.” She takes a moment to breath. 

 

“But—i just let him die—“

 

“My father was a cop, Peter. He chose that life which meant he could've died on the job on any bad day. Don’t blame yourself just because it was that particular one. It wasn’t your fault and you did the best you could. You didn’t have any support, trying to save everyone by yourself. I could've lost you too, you know.”

 

Peter looks down sadly. Gwen puts a comforting hand on his knee.

 

“Which is why it’s important that even if you know you can continue being Spider-Man, you should definitely go back to Daredevil. He cares about you, and actually can and will help you, don’t let someone like that go.”

 

Peter looks at Gwen, the guilt and sadness that was there melting into a face of contentment. “Wow, thanks Gwen.”

 

“Don’t thank me, I'm doing both of us a favour.” She says but there is warmth in her voice.

 

“Just.. one tiny problem though.”

 

Gwen snaps her head up. “Whats that?”

 

Peter fiddles with his shirt sleeves. “I may— may have, said a few things, about him— to him.”

 

Gwen makes a noise that both comes out exasperated and worried. 

 

“I didn’t really mean to. I was angry—funny, coming from me because he’s the one with anger issues. Yeah i should probably shut up now—“

 

“Anger issues?”

 

Peter makes a sheepish face. “Once you get to know him, Matts— possessive. Not just as Daredevil over the city, but over people he cares about, and he's really, really intense about it. When he fights, he fights like he wants to kill his opponent. But he doesn’t, i know he never would. I don’t know, i guess it just sort of freaked me out a little and i used it against him.”

 

Gwen actually makes and exasperated noise this time. “You are going to go back, and you are going to apologise.”

 

Peter nods. “Yeah, I feel like a huge jerk. And the worst part, is he didn’t even deny it. It’s like he knew there was something messed up about him. But, it doesn’t seem that way, he has this really high self control, and the way he can just switch from a deadly vigilante to a respectable lawyer in half a second—Gwen, its amazing. Pretty scary too. I mean— doesn’t change the fact that I’m still kinda mad at him, but wow—”

 

“Are you done fanboying?”

 

Peter’s face goes red. “Erm, yeah.”

 

Gwen smiles. “Good. Because we’re about to do some baking.”

 

 

 

 

-

 

“I go away for one week, and this happens.” The shaggy haired lawyer pinches the bridge of his nose.

 

“I can’t believe you two.” Karen scolds, folding her arms across her chest. “You were meant to keep him safe, not scare him away.”

 

“We didn’t scare him away—“ Foggy replies from his desk, looking sheepishly at Karen who was stood unhappily in the doorway of his office.

 

Matt is silently working in his office, relatively quiet since the argument yesterday. Guilt probably, Foggy thought. 

 

“Then why isn’t he here?”

 

“Peter isn’t actually our intern is he?” The lawyer asks rhetorically but stops at the look Karen was giving him. “He’s actually our intern. Okay then.”

 

He continues. “Listen, i feel pretty bad too. Imagine how Matt must be feeling. But we were trying to keep him safe—“

 

Karen scoffs at that, moving her hands outward in an exasperated gesture. “Peter is already out there, Foggy. Telling him to stop being Spider-Man is not going to keep him out of trouble.”

 

“Yeah but—“

 

“Once he’s in, he’s already made an impression to the city. Im pretty sure these people after vigilantes already have information on how to get to him. And you want to send him home to a normal life? He can’t Foggy, none of us can! We have to stay together.”

 

Foggy stares at her, silent for a moment before sighing. “Wish i could tell you that you're wrong.”

 

Karen makes a face that says ‘damn straight’ right before turning her head towards Matt’s office. “I know you heard that, Matt. You better be bringing that kid back here or there will be consequences.” She warns.

 

“Consequences from who?” His muffled voice replies, behind his door.

 

“Me.” Karen replies, walking over to sit down at her desk.

 

-

 

 

Matt can sense the nervous heartbeat before he can practically smell the web fluid as it attaches itself to the tiny window behind Karens desk. The secretary’s heartbeat jumps as she turns around eliciting a small yelp at the faint knock on the window right behind her. Matt senses her pause and her heartbeat steadies out in recognition. She happily opens the window, immediately embracing the small person who stumbles in, in a tight hug.

 

“Mmmhf-Karen—you’ll squish the cookies!”

 

The what? Matt practically sniffs the air. The kid has brought cookies.

 

“Did someone say cookies?” Foggy emerges from his office, and stops. “Oh.” He clears his throat. “Heyyy..kiddo.”

 

“H-Hey Foggy.“ Peter shifts nervously.

 

“Peter,” Matt says calmly, the three of them jumping as they did not notice him step out of his office. “You’re here.”

 

Peter jumps, biting his lip. “Yep. I do work here now, if you forgot.”

 

“Right.”

 

There is a heavy silence for a few seconds before Matt speaks. 

 

“Where were you last night?”

 

Peter scoffs a little. “Nice question. Not like it’d concern you if it wasn’t related to Spider-Man.”

 

Matt gapes defensively, opening his mouth to argue. “Peter—“

 

“Don’t try to deny it alright? I was at Gwen’s. Stop worrying.”

 

“Ooh, who’s Gwen?” Karen asks, desperately trying to divert the increasing tension in the room.

 

“She’s my—“

 

“His girlfriend.” Matt finishes. Peter snaps his head around to glower at him. 

 

“Aw, that’s so sweet Peter.” Karen says, putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder. 

 

“You care about her, a lot. Don’t you?” Matt looks at Peter, who can already see what the man is getting at.

 

“Stop it.”

 

“What?”

 

“What you’re doing. Stop making me feel bad about it. I know me being Spider-Man puts her in danger. I tried to let go of her, i really did— I can’t.”

 

“No, of course not. You shouldn’t have to, Peter.” Karen assures him, clearing her throat and throwing a look at Matt, who sighs and ducks his head. Welp, he tried.

 

“Hey—We have a door, as you vigilantes never realise. Well at least Matt hasn’t pulled off the window stunt yet.” Foggy mentions randomly, once again using Karen’s idea of avoiding the subject.

 

“No one saw me.”

 

“You came in through the window, in broad daylight. What do we say to any client that comes in?” 

 

“That’s why I wore my civilian clothes,” Peter explains, tugging at his jacket sleeves. “And I also made sure no one was around when I stuck to the window, I swear. No one saw me.”

 

“Fair enough.” Foggy shrugs, looking expectantly at Matt.

 

Matt senses the stare and clears his throat. “Peter, listen, im—“

 

Peter guesses whats about to happen and brings out the box of cookies out in front of him. “Wait, I brought these for you guys—Um, my-uh—Aunt’s recipe, me and Gwen made them, she told me to give you these—“

 

“Oh.” Matt says. “Thats nice of her.”

 

Karen puts her hands on her hips. “Matt.”

 

Foggy widens his eyes and takes the cookies from Peter who was holding the box in front of the two.

 

Matt falters. “I mean—thanks, she didn’t have to—“

 

“It’s not— I wanted to bring them.” Peter says, trying hard to keep eye contact despite his nerves. “Its a peace offering. Listen, I wanted to apologise— “

 

“Me too actually—“ Matt says, but the teen continues.

 

 

“—For uh, the stuff i said yesterday. I didn’t mean it, any of it, i mean, about you. I was angry and i wasn’t thinking—“

 

Matt cuts him off before he can continue rambling. “Peter you don’t have to apologise for that.”

 

“Yes, i do.” He attempts to sound stern but his voice wavers. “It wasn’t—“

 

“I should be apologising.”

 

_“But—“_

 

“You didn’t do anyth—“

 

_“No, shut up Matt let me do this—“_

 

“Why—“

 

“Oh my God you two.” Karen cuts off their bickering, once again stood in her ‘im so done with these men’ pose. “Just let him finish, Matt. If we’re going there, we’re going there.”

 

Matt stares at Peter for a long moment, his sightless eyes boring into the teenager. “Fine.” he finally says.

 

“You guys were just looking out for me, and i shouldn’t have put you in that situation. I’m not gonna stop doing what i do, whether you guys approve or not, but i did drag you into this. So,” Peter looks him in the eye, although its pointless. “I’m sorry.”

 

Its quiet for a moment before Matt speaks. “Oh, and i was really hoping he’d stay mad at us so we could get a better intern, one that consumes less of our hot chocolate.” He smiles.“I’m kidding.”

 

 _“Wow,”_ Peter snorts, catching onto the older man’s escape from the touchy moment. “Well, too bad, you can’t get rid of me now.”

 

A laugh. “I’m so glad you’re here, kid. Matt had this pouty brooding face on ever since you left yesterday morning.” Said Foggy using a mock exasperated tone.

 

“I did not have a ‘pouty brooding face’,” Matt replied, a hint of a pout being heard in his voice. That caused Peter to chuckle a little.

 

“Sure you didn’t buddy.”

 

Karen laughs fondly, walking out from behind her desk.

“If you two are done, Matt, there was something you wanted to give Peter?” She says knowingly,

 

“Huh?” Peter made a sound, brow raised quizzically.

 

Matt tilted his head innocently.  “There was?“

 

“Matt.” Karen crosses her arms, noticing the small smirk appearing onto his face.

 

“Alright, okay. Peter, we think, ” he decided, a tone of teasing to his voice that made Peter squint at him. “that if you’re going to insist on going out there” the man stepped back calmly,  reaching into his office to pull out a paper bag. “you should, quite obviously, have some form of contact. You know, if you ever need me to swoop in and save the day.” he grinned, handing the bag to Peter.

 

Peter scrunched up his nose at the lawyer and gave him a weary look, almost as if the bag had an explosive inside it. “Wait a minute. What are you saying?”

 

“I don’t know how you’ve been doing this by yourself all this time, its impressive, kid. But the last thing we want is you getting hurt, especially on my watch.”

 

“Oh yeah, Matt would never forgive himself.” Foggy says as Karen nods.

 

“Um—“

 

“Are you going to open that? I might end up finishing all these cookies, they're great by the way.” Foggy jokes, devouring the taste of the chocolate chip cookies.

 

Peter furrows his brows and reaches into the bag to pull out a rectangular box the size of his hand. His eyes widen in disbelief.

 

_“No.”_

 

“Yes.” Foggy grins. “It was my idea, by the way.”

 

 _“No way!”_ The younger fumbles with the box and pulls out a sleek device. “What the hell? You got me a phone?”

 

Matt can’t keep himself from smiling, he shrugs. “It’s not exactly an ideal phone, according to— well, everyone. But i suppose it should do—“

 

“Holy sh— this is so cool!”

 

Matt is slightly taken aback by the overly positive reaction, but masks it with a light smile. “Think of it as a peace offering.”

 

Karen rolls her eyes. “Come on, Matt.”

 

“Fine, think of it as your Christmas present.”

 

“Oh man, i thought i was gonna have to convince Mr. Stark to give me a stark phone or something.” Peter jokes, winking at Foggy.

 

“I am offended.” Matt says.

 

“Check the bag again!” Foggy says, chuckling.

 

Peter stops excitedly bouncing in his spot. “What? There’s more?” He scrambles for the bag he put on Karens desk and reaches inside, pulling out a smaller, older looking phone. 

 

“A flip phone? Are you guys trying to tell me something?” He says confusedly. 

 

“Its a burner phone.” Matt explains. “It’s not ideal to have your civilian phone on you when you’re in the suit.”

 

“Oh, right—obviously.” 

 

“I’ve put mine and Claire’s number on it. You have to call when you need anything, okay?”

 

“A freaking flip phone, do people still have these? So cool—“

 

“Peter.” Matt stops him, snapping the teen’s attention back to the conversation. “I mean it. If you ever feel like there’s something wrong, call me. No excuses.” he gives him a successfully stern look. 

 

“Yeah, ‘course.” Peter mutters in reply, putting the phones in his pockets. 

 

“Good. Don’t make me regret it.”

 

Peter looks at Matt, Karen and Foggy. “So— you guys aren’t— gonna try to stop me from—“ 

 

“Don’t think we could even if we tried.” Karen says, but theres pure admiration in her voice.

 

Peter makes an awed face. He’s never been in a room with people with so much sincerity directed towards him, it made a warm feeling rush through his chest.

 

They understood him. They were letting him do what he does, not that he needed their approval for it, but it only proved they believed in him and supported him and an empty feeling that had been there feel a little less empty.

 

“I—can I—” He stutters, stumbling towards Matt. The lawyer tilts his head, confused but then the teen clutches his fingers around Matt’s coat and slams into him, hugging him. “Thank you.” 

 

Matt stumbles backwards slightly at the sudden weight pressed against him and after a few seconds to register what just happened he unsurely pats the teen on the head. Karen and Foggy laugh a little,

 

Matt chuckles amusedly. “You’re welcome Peter.” 

 

Embarrassment showed brightly on Peter’s reddened face, as he releases the man and hangs his arms behind him awkwardly “Sorry i just—“

 

“Alright, i think we’re past the apologising.” Foggy announces from behind him, watching the scene unfold in amusement.

 

“Oh right sorr— I mean—ugh—“ 

 

Matt chuckles at the flustered teen.

 

“Not funny. I’m gonna be amazing. You’ll see. No threat’ll ever get to me. And i won’t ever let them get to you guys.” 

 

Foggy snorts. “Im sure you will, just try not to be a threat to yourself, kiddo.” He chuckles, ruffling Peter's hair, causing the teen to whine and bat the mans hands away.

 

The jokes aside, Peter could tell they truly meant it.

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> peter asks a lot of questions, matt tries to mentor, and our favourite merc is back in town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took a bit long, i just had to confirm some facts and stuff (aka google marvel facts at midnight because life of a writer lol) anyways, here ya go! leave a comment about what you thinks gonna happen hehe.

“So you’re coming over to dinner tomorrow, right? With Karen and Foggy? My Aunt won’t leave me alone about it.” Peter says as he leaps over Matt, landing and attempting to kick his legs from under him.

 

Daredevil steps backwards. “For the hundredth time, Peter. Yes, we are.”

 

The teen jerks back up and attempts to kick the older man again, but Matt grabs his legs and lightly flings him sideways. Spider-Man twists in the air and lands on his feet, sliding back wards a tiny bit from the force. 

 

“You know, if you would focus, you'd be getting the hang of this move by now,” Daredevil taunts lowly, and the younger lowers his head and rubs at his side a little.

 

“Sorry, its just.” Peter scratches the back of his neck. “I was just thinking about something.”

 

Matt stares at him silently and suddenly vaults onto the roof in one motion, leaping off the railing of the fire escape and landing as a roll on the ground. 

 

“Show off.” Peter sighs, blowing out a gust of air, and springs onto the roof behind him. 

They had decided to leave the office early patrol the streets before Peter went home to his Aunt who had just got back for christmas, and so Matt could go be the Catholic he was and go to mass. Fortunately, it seemed like most of the criminals in Hell’s Kitchen had some basic human decency not to mess around on a christmas eve. Hence the two had started sparring to pass the time.

 

“What is it?” Daredevil says, crouching low on the roof, busying himself with listening to the sounds on the crowded street below.

 

“I gotta ask,” Spider-Man starts, crouching down next to Matt into his well known spider-pose. “Did you ever, like, imagine yourself, doing this? When you were younger?”

 

“You mean fighting crime?”

 

Peter shrugs. “I guess. Not the lawyer way, though. Thats kinda funny actually, you fight crime day and night.” He grins.

 

A faint smile passes through Matts face before he turns his head, his voice low. “No, not like this.”

Peter looks at him, expecting him to elaborate, but the man just continues listening to the traffic. He sighs and rests his head on his knees, wrapping his arms around his legs in the cold winter air.

 

Matt surprises him when he starts talking again. “I didn’t know how to fight before i was blind.”

 

Peter snaps his head up. “You weren’t always blind?”

 

The masked man nods. “Accident, when i was nine. Got my heightened senses from it.”

 

“Woah, really? How’d you learn to fight so good then?”

 

Matt pauses for a moment, noticing how genuinely amazed the younger was. He gives him a tiny smile. 

 

“A blind old man named Stick came to me at the orphanage and taught me how to use my senses and lack of sight to my advantage.”

 

“ _No_ , way.” Peter says, his dopey grin stretching his mask. “That sounds like a sick movie plot.” 

 

Matt lets out a chuckle, tilting his head towards the younger boy. “Maybe. I don’t really go to the movies.”

 

Peter face palms in amusement. “Of course you don’t.” He shifts a little. “Hey Matt, you said—-i don’t wanna pry but— you said, orphanage?”

 

If the older man was surprised at the question, he did a good job of hiding it. He rubs a hand over his jaw, tilting his head the other way again.

 

Peter’s eyes widen. Yeah, he shouldn’t have asked that. _Great job Parker._

 

Matt surprises him and himself by answering, in an almost casual tone. “Yeah. It was just me and my dad, until it was just me.”

 

“Oh.” Peter ducks his head, uncomfortable by the situation. However that did not erase his interest. “Did he fight too? Your dad?”

 

Matt doesn't move, but replies. “Not like this, no. He was a boxer.”

 

Peter nods, briefly remembering the worn out poster he saw when they were at Fogwell’s. He had dismissed it at the time but right now it was peaking his interest. “I saw—i saw a poster, at the gym. It said Murdock and Creel—”

 

Matt nods. “Yeah, that was his last match. Fogwell’s is still the same as it was back then.” He gives a grim smile.

 

“Was he good?”

 

The older man looked doubtful, but the look on his face was fond. “He’d get pretty beat up, but he’d always, always get back up. Before i was blinded, i’d stay up to watch his matches on TV, i even listened to them after. He was good.”

Peter was quiet for a second, trying to formulate the right words for what he was thinking. “Is that why you…”

 

“No. My dad never wanted me to fight.”

 

Peter sits up at the sharp statement. Wondering whether Matt was talking to him or telling that to himself.

 

“Why did he box, then?” Peter says in a small voice. _Stop asking questions._

 

Matt sighs, sitting more comfortably now. The low christmas music that was playing below had stopped for a moment, and all they could hear was the chatter of the crowd and the smell of food.

 

“He was stubborn enough for it. Didn’t have much of a choice, he wasn’t as educated for anything else. Probably why he wanted me to be a lawyer.”

 

“How’d he die?” he asked him hesitantly. _Parker, one day, your curiosity will be the death of you._ The teen scolds himself.

 

 Matt reads Peter’s heartbeat for a moment, not actually bothered by the question but intrigued by the genuine curiosity that just spilled out of the younger boy even in the tensest moments. 

 

“He won the match.” a bitter smile twists onto Matt’s lips.

 

Peter tilts his head. “He—won?—and?”

 

“He wasn’t supposed to.” he says, almost darkly. “But he wanted to. For me, for him. He was stubborn.”

 

Peter is silent, his confusion showing.

 

“My father was a good man. But caught up in a bad situation.” The man states. “He was shot a few moments after the match. Someone didn’t want him to win.” Peter thinks his voice might falter but it doesn’t. The only emotion that was showing on his mentors face was the will to mask his emotions.

 

And in that moment, Gwen’s words start to make more sense to him. There was more to Matt than he originally thought. Under that angry, but controlled outer shell. He was more similar to Peter than he’d realised, which only made the teen look up to the horned vigilante even more.

 

“Then this old blind man taught you how to use your blindness for good?”

 

Matt shrugs a little, th bitter smile showing on the lower half of his face. “Im not sure about the ‘good’. But yes, he did teach me how to fight.”

 

“So you’ve been doing this since—“

 

“No, i never really used my abilities much. Not until me and Foggy opened up Nelson and Murdock.”

 

“What happened to Stick?” 

 

Matt raises a brow at the number of questions that left the kids mouth. “Stick was only around for a few months i was at the orphanage. He left pretty fast, deciding he didn’t need me. I went to college, met Foggy, opened up a practice, and here i am stuck with a kid that can stick to windows.” He shoves Peter with his shoulder, who laughs lightly and pushes the man away.

 

Peter makes a worried face. “He left you? Were you not good enough?”

 

Matt stops for a moment, sensing the worried heartbeat. He remembers how he felt when he had someone he could finally relate to, with powers like his. And how he felt when Stick had left him, how he kept wondering what he did wrong and constantly beating himself up about it. He could only imagine what Peter must be thinking right now.

“He wanted a soldier. For reasons that you and I would not agree with. I wasn’t the soldier he needed. That’s why he left me.”

 

Peter is looking at Matt with wide eyes behind his mask.

 

“Im not gonna leave you, Peter.”

 

The masked teen stares at him silently, before letting out a shaky laugh and putting his head in his hands. "Do you ever worry you’re missing out on a normal life?’’

 

The horned vigilante shrugs. “Not sure. Sometimes I think I was born to be Daredevil, and that Matt Murdock is the life that isn’t real for me.”

 

Peter makes a surprised face, but ponders for a moment. “I guess that makes sense. I really feel like myself when I'm being Spider-Man.”

 

Matt grins. “Great. Now are we done with the twenty questions?”

 

Peter lifts his mask to stick out his tongue. “You just asked a question!”

 

Matt gives a low grunt in response, sticking his neck out a little has he could hear something potentially suspicious happening a few blocks away. 

 

“Fine, my turn. How’d you get your abilities? Specifically, the sticky hands and feet. Because your web fluid is definitely not organic.”

 

Peter scrunches up his nose. “Ew no, that would be weird.” 

 

Matt chuckles as he continues listening to the noises far away.

 

“I was bit by a radioactive spider.” Peter blurts.

 

Daredevil pauses his task and snaps his head around towards the other masked vigilante. He takes a moment to sense his heart beat and it was probably the most truthful thing Peter had said to him. 

 

“You were—“

 

“Bit by a radioactive spider.” Peter announces again looking up at the sky, shrugging. It’s silent for a moment and he looks down again and catches the teasing smile on Matt’s jaw just a fraction of a second before the man dissolves into deep laughter. 

 

"It's not funny.”

 

"It's a little funny," Matt says, still grinning and standing up from where they were perched. “How’d you find a radioactive spider?” He asks casually, making his way to the other side of the roof.

 

“I didn’t.” Spider-Man gets up and follows him. “Class trip to Oscorp, we were looking at spiders and i guess one escaped and bit me. Then i felt really sick. Woke up next morning with 20/20 vision and jumped onto the ceiling. Literally.”

 

Matt raises a brow under his mask. “Huh. Thats—“

 

“I know, it sounds pretty ridiculous. I’m still kinda not used to it.”

 

“Sticking to stuff?”

 

“My enhanced senses.” Peter shrugs. “Sounds mostly. It helped when you told me how to differentiate between sounds of danger and just everyday ones. But some days its gets really bad, and i have this constant anxiety because of it. It’s not a big deal though i guess—“

 

Matt stares at him. “Why didn’t you tell me before? I could’ve helped a bit more.”

 

The younger vigilante shrugs again. “We were kinda occupied…arguing and planning i guess…its not—“

 

“Peter.” Matt cuts him off. “How about this. I heard something a few blocks down. I think it may be something worth checking out.”

 

The teen perks up, surging forward. “Okay, lets go—“

 

Daredevil stops him, placing a hand on his chest, “No. You stay here. You’re gonna listen, and try to pinpoint the source.” He says, his voice quiet, but authoritative.

 

Peter stumbles backwards. “Wh-What? My hearing sucks compared to yours, how can i—“

 

“Because the source is getting closer. Close your eyes and focus.” His voice got lower, and less distracting allowing the teen to grow a bit calmer.

 

It takes a few tries before Peter finally separates the sounds of the christmas eve rush below, to the dark corner of a building very close to them where someone could be heard to be struggling against another person. They were in fact nearing them. Peter’s spider sense kicks in to confirm what he heard, and the teen tilts his head down in confirmation. 

Matt pats him on the back, causing him to jump a little, and let out a shaky breath.

 

“I didn’t know i could do that.” 

 

“Huh, neither did i. Guess we’re both learning new things aren’t we?” Matt says amusedly, getting ready to flip onto the next roof. “You lead the way this time.” He motions to him.

 

“You suck at this.” Peter jokes, smirking. “Try to keep up, DD.” he warns as he swings himself onto the next rooftop. Matt grins and shakes his head, following the younger vigilante to towards the new danger.

 

 

-

 

“So like, I almost ended up blowin’ up the place. It was fucking filled with these top class douchebags with fukin’ sticks up their asses. Oh man, you shoulda seen the looks on their faces when i took out the manager. Y’know im considering strapping like, a go pro or some shit next time i do a job. It’d be fuckin’ worth it.’’

 

Weasel barely blinks at the mercs rambling, pouring a drink into a glass he pulled out from under the counter.

 

“Sounds like you were having a good time, Wade. Why’d you come back to this shithole so quick?”

 

The merc sighs, snatching the drink from Weasel and downing it in one go. “I don’t even fucking know man, i leave the city for about a week to do a job, cuz y’know if Spidey ever found out i’ve been unaliving people in his city then shit, man. Anyways i was thinking i could run into the little guy and hang out, y’know, i dunno, do whatever people do on christmas eve, but he doesn’t seem to be around.”

 

The bartender doesn’t seem to be fazed at all, nodding along to any regular who came in to ramble to him. ’’Haven’t you been watching the news Wade? Dudes been hanging around the Kitchen a lot lately. I’d say he’s getting it on with the hornhead.’’ he replied, pushing the freshly poured drink towards the merc.

 

Wade gave him a look, mostly masked beneath dim bar lights—well, also because of his actual mask— he lifts it up again to down the second drink. “Who the fuck even watches the shitty news anymore? Besides, Spidey ain’t that type of guy.”

 

Weasel blinks, bored. “Or they could be teaming up for a completely different reason altogether.”

 

“You mean the…”

 

“The thing you keep chickening the fuck out of? It’s become pretty obvious whats happening by now, no doubt those two have caught on.”

 

Weasel reached under the counter again, bringing up a few more glasses for a few of the regulars passing comments to him here and there. When Wade doesn’t say anything, he pours another drink for him. ’’Can’t believe you’re still considering turning down the job, Wade. The guy’s a lawyer, they're all greedy corrupted fuckers. No one’d miss him.’’ he adds, pouring the drink slowly, and bored.

 

“I don’t give a shit about that Weasel.” Wade states, pulling the drink towards himself.

 

“Then what? You’re worried the Devil’ll fuck you up for taking out his blind friend? You don’t give a shit about the dude either. It’s the web head thats fucking you up right now. Come on man, he won’t find out. You’re trained and shit.”

 

“He will if he’s been hanging so close to hornhead, Weasel.” The merc says, not really into the conversation. He downs his drink once again.

 

Weasel starts wiping down the counter with a cloth as he nods to a few others entering the bar. “And thats why you go undercover.”

 

Wade gives a fake smile, quirking an eyebrow up under his mask. "Hahah, did you know that you’re funny?’’ he says, as he starts to get up, slipping closer to the exit. 

 

“Wade, i know that isn’t your style and all, trust me, i’ve seen your social medias. But if you won’t do it, one of the guys in here will. Its an open job, just hasn’t been announced that way.”

 

The merc groans, pulling his mask down. “I think i need more time to think this shit through.”

 

“Now you sound like a hoe who just got back with her man-whore boyfriend. Just take the hit, get the cash, and get the hell outta dodge. No questions asked.” The bartender shrugs.

 

“You’re an asshole. Why do i come to you for advice?”

 

“Because you're a fucking idiot. Whether you take it or not, is completely up to you.”

 

“Helpful.” Wade comments. “Can i at least wear my mask while i do it?”

 

“I think your avocado face will have to do, no one will look at you—or everyone will look at you—i don’t know. Fuck off already.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a reunion, a lot of alleyway fights, a lot of knives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okie doks! i have paused my intense studies to quickly write this chapter because it has been too long, too long indeed. if there are any mistakes or it sucks in general then you'll know why. leave a comment of what you thought about it cuz it keeps me motivated :)

Deadpool expertly manoeuvres thorough the hectic streets of manhattan. Dodging pedestrians, lamp posts and hotdog stands whilst he was deep in negotiation on the phone.

 

“No, no, no. Did i mention no? You send me the cash in advance—no, because your a pain in the ass that’s why. Do it, right now—Good, give me about a week, i’ve got other shit to do— Oomph!”

 

The merc stops and stumbles a little, looking over his shoulder to see a shorter person who had also stumbled slightly to the left after bumping into him.

 

“Watch where you’re fucking going dude— No, not you, though i wouldn’t mind if you took the advice. Yeah i’ll call you back, bye.” Wade shoves his phone in one of his pockets as he stares down the shorter person, who seemed to also be staring back at him from under the hood pulled over his head. He was wearing worn out jeans, and battered sneakers, the oversized hoodie he was wearing seemed to barely help how he was stood in the cold.

 

“Um—sorry, didn’t see you.” The short dude says, in the most constipated voice he’d heard. Wade raises a brow under his mask.

 

“You need a cough drop or some shit?”

 

“N-no I'm fine.” He quickly says, voice suddenly increasing in pitch before turning around and running away.

 

Wade shrugs and keeps walking, he seemed to have that sort of effect on people, it may or may not have anything to do with the amount of weapons clearly visible on him.

 

-

 

Peter Parker was freezing.

 

The cold wet snow that had made his suit a little damp after his morning patrol in Queens wasn’t helping, since he was still wearing his suit under his clothes and the oversized hoodie that he still seemed to have after he borrowed it from Matt.

 

Although despite the cold, the boy had a warm feeling in his chest. The fact that a cup of hot chocolate awaited him at the Nelson and Murdock office was enough to get him going.

 

The three did in fact come for dinner, much to Aunt May’s delight, and so did Gwen. It was one of the most comfortable moments Peter had felt in his life, being around people who loved and supported him, and the people that kept him going. 

 

Peter got along better with Foggy than when they had first met a few days before. The man was practically a joyful marshmallow, who would also mother you whether you liked it or not.

 

Gwen had immediately befriended Karen, Naturally, both of them being the badass women they were. 

Karen and his aunt got along well too. Karen talked about how she met Matt and Foggy and why they were such amazing people, and Aunt may completely adoring them and giving her tips on life and cookie recipes.

 

Matt was mostly listening and enjoying the conversation at the table. He managed to get along with everyone, talking briefly about his times with Foggy in college, much to Peter and Gwen’s amusement.

 

Overall, it had gone better than he expected. So this, very cold, Tuesday morning, Peter was practically skipping down the street, making his way towards Hell’s Kitchen. He would’ve web slung, but as established, it was actually freezing and the teen wanted nothing more than to bundle up in many layers of clothing. 

 

Deep in his thoughts, Peter did not notice the tall, red clad man with guns twisting his way through the rush on the streets. 

 

It was only until his face collided with the mans chest and he went stumbling sideways was that he noticed that this man, was Deadpool. Peter almost blurts the mans name out when he remembers the lack of a certain spandex on him. He blanches, quickly pulling up the hood of Matt’s hoodie over his head on instinct. Not that he’d recognise him, but it was better safe than sorry with skilled mercenaries like Wade.

 

Deadpool calls him out, staring him down and Peter is not only thankful the hood was covering most of his face so the mercenary couldn’t deduce who he was but also because he face was flushed bright pink under his gaze.

 

He figured should probably reply to seem normal and not raise suspicion, so he apologizes in the deepest, non hyperactive arachnid kid vigilante voice he could muster. Peter cringes at how unnatural and constipated it came out instead.

 

Deadpool is about to strike conversation with him like the talkative merc he is but Peter strikes it down and makes a run for it, hoping the merc wouldn’t follow. Fortunately for the boy, Deadpool seemed unbothered and continued to walk along.

 

Peter pulls his hood down once he’s well out of the mercs line of sight, and slips behind a building to scale the wall to a higher perch. 

 

The vigilante kinda missed the merc with a mouth, who hadn’t been around recently. He didn’t really acknowledge the fact at first, him being busy training with Daredevil and all, but the constant, carefree chatter that came along with the mercs presence did a lot to help the teen calm down sometimes, on bad days mostly.

 

Peter spots Deadpool still walking down the sidewalk, briefly pausing to converse animatedly with a homeless person resting on a park bench. Peter smiled. He liked that about Wade. There were times where he could get on his nerves, with the sexual jokes and the habit of killing, and yeah he could come off as dick at times. But other than doing shit jobs for shit people, there was a comforting air that came to how he treated random people. It was like the more complicated Wade was, the more simple of a person he could be.

 

The teen feels his phone buzzing in his back pocket, he sighs already knowing it was probably Foggy reminding him to pick up some coffee on the way. Peter quickly types and shoots a text back telling him that no he absolutely did not forget thank you very much.

 

Peter takes one last took at Deadpool before climbing down from his perch. He had two lawyers and a secretary waiting for him.

 

Two lawyers of which one was a nighttime vigilante.

 

“I should probably check what he’s up to.” Peter says, making up an excuse to himself.”So what if I'm a few hours late, Matt’ll understand.”

 

Peter leaps back onto the roof, stripping himself of his street clothes and donning his mask before swinging down towards Wade who was making his way across the street now.

 

“Sweet christmas! Spidey is that you!?” The merc exclaims in surprise, the eyes of his mask widening minutely as the younger vigilante lands on the roof in front of where he was heading.

 

“Hey Wade.” Spider-Man waves cheerily.

 

“It is you!” Deadpool scrambles up the roof, immediately attaching himself to the vigilante.  "Oh man, I don't believe this! Just when i thought my day was gonna get worser—is that a word? Nah, who gives a shit. What’s up Baby Boy?” Deadpool rambles as Peter waves his hands around, pushing the man off him.

 

“Nothing much, just patrol.”

 

“Nothing much, just patrol?” Wade says in mock disbelief. “Don’t you mean, everything, and patrol!”

 

Peter scrunches up his nose, laughing. “What?”

 

“Webs! I missed you! Where were you, my love! We have been apart too long, we must—-uh I'm not sure where i was going with that— wanna patrol together?”

 

“Um,” Peter shrugs cooly, “yeah, sure.”

 

Wade makes a sort a squealing sound before tackling the younger into a hug, mostly crushing Peter under his heavy muscles. ”Yes! Spidey and DP back at it again!”

 

“Yay?" Peter says, voice strained from under the merc. “Agh, get off me you big lump.”

 

“The fuck did you just call me?” Wade says, releasing him and placing his gloved hands on his hips.

 

“A big fat lump.” Peter draws out teasingly, already preparing to to make a run for it the second time.

 

Deadpool gasps amusedly, “Oh you—“ He swings his arms out to grab Peter but the younger webs himself onto the next roof just in time, laughing.

 

Wade takes no time in jumping onto the next roof, the two chase each other across the area for a good ten minutes before agreeing on getting something to eat. 

 

-

 

“So, where were you? Didn’t see you around for like, a week. And you always manage to find me—“ Spider-Man says, taking a bite out of his hotdog.

 

“Aw Webs, you missed me didn’t you?”

 

Peter blushes under his pulled up mask, choking a little. “I- Wh—no—“

 

“You absolutely positively definitely did!” He chuckles at the punch he gets to his shoulder.

 

“Wade,” The younger coughs a little, both amused and annoyed.

 

The merc shrugs. “I was here, Webs. I was around.” He lies, practically inhaling his own hotdog.

 

“Really?” Spider-Man clears his throat as they walk through the narrow alleyway.

 

“Uh huh, totally! You need like a cough drop Baby Boy? Cuz i got plenty here in my pockets, somewhere, i never can remember which one, you know, all these pockets and pouches, i think i have a few explosives on me as well—“

 

“Do you actually have cough drops or do you just keep saying that to people?” The vigilante asks, amused.

 

Deadpool stops in his tracks. “Wait, what?”

 

Peter is too caught in the moment to notice his mistake. He tosses hid hotdog napkin into the dumpster and leans on the brick wall. “Well, i mean thats like, the second time you’ve asked that today—“ The younger trails off as realisation dawns on him. Shit.

 

“How do you know i asked that before?” Wade says, his high pitched, sometimes annoying voice and care-free demeanour all of a sudden non-existent.

 

The younger is stood too still, panicking on the inside, his brain thinking of and running through twenty different excuses for his slip up. He subconsciously pulls his mask down the lower half of his face, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze.

 

“I—I was—“

 

Wades jaw twists up into a smirk where it was visible on the lower part of his face where he pulled his mask up. “Were you stalking me, Baby Boy?”

 

Peter pauses, “Uhm—“

 

“Oh em gee. You were totes spying on me, weren’t you?”

 

“I wasn’t—-“ Peter lets out a nervous breath, shuffling his feet on the dirty floor. It was the perfect excuse. “Just checking to see what you were doing.”

 

Wade is laughing. “Thats what you call stalking, especially if the person being stalked doesn’t know about it. I should know, i stalk for like, a living!”

 

Peter crosses his arms at that. Wade puts his hands up defensively, but he’s still laughing. “Ohhooooh, Baby boy. I was not expecting that—“

 

“Alright alright, you can shut up now.” Spider-Man grumbles, walking ahead. 

 

“Aw, Spidey, don’t be like that. I'm flattered, baby! C’mon!”

 

“Uh huh.” Spider-Man replies disconnectedly as he tilts his head. “Do you hear that?”

 

“Hear what? Is it my stomach? That hot dog was tiny. I cant believe you didn't let me buy like, five more. I had my gun, i have many guns, all i had to do was show it to the guy and we’d have a dozen dirty street hotdogs—”

 

“Wade,” Peter says as he attaches himself to the wall.

 

“What? You have a bigger appetite than me, I'm sure of it.”

 

“Wade.”

 

“Oh right, you’ve got a fucking problem with guns. Too pure for this world, you are, baby boy.” 

 

“Will you listen?” pressed the younger, pitch rising in emphasis.

 

Deadpool stops talking, surging forward to where Peter was stuck to the wall ready to spring into action. 

He’s almost quiet for a second before he shrugs. “Nah, i don’t hear nothing. You're the one with the super duper hearing and senses here, Webs.”

 

Peter makes an airy noise. “They’re not exactly that super duper, Wade. Im serious—”

 

“The fuck do you mean? You’re like, on edge most of the fucking time ‘cause like, you can hear shit louder and whatever, and then theres your spidey senses and shit and—jeez Spidey you know what its like when you got this super powered vigilante ask you if you can fuckin hear some shit thats like, blocks away? Happened to me once with freakin Captian America. I almost wanted to punch ol’ Cap in that gorgeous face of his—“

 

“Wade!” Spider-Man hisses as his spider-sense screams at the base of his skull. He flips backwards, placing his hands on the mercs shoulders and pushing them both to the ground, milliseconds before several knives whizz past them.

 

“Shit, Babycakes, that was hot.” Deadpool comments, as if they weren’t just being attacked all of a sudden.

 

“What the hell was that?!” Spider-Man yells lowly from on top of Wade. Their chests pressing together as more knives flew past them. “Where are all these knives coming from?!”

 

“Don’t worry baby, i’ll keep you safe!” Wade exclaims as he grabs Peter’s waist and flips them over, his arms on either side of him, shielding the younger from the sudden attack.

 

Spider-Man would attempt to push the heavier man off from on top of him, but in the current situation, that would only result in one of them getting seriously stabbed by the flying weapons. 

 

Instead, “Right, thanks…” he says, a bit flustered. 

 

“Hey, it’s better me than you, right? Your healing factor sucks compared to mine. I can take more than a few knives.”

 

“Thoughtful.” Peter retorts with some sarcasm, because he has nothing else but that and his mask hiding the increasing nervousness on him. 

 

They lie there for a few seconds before the knives seize, and Wade hesitantly lifts his head up to look around. Peter wisely stays still.

 

“Hellooo? Knives guy? Or girl? Or squad? I don’t judge. Care to give us a little context?”

 

If Peter could face palm, he would. But his arms were too busy being pinned beneath Wades.

 

“You’ve got him pinned. Take him out already.” A voice says, but neither of them can see the source.

 

Wade lifts his head higher. “Do i know you?” A few more knives whiz past. “Yeah, i know you. The fuck do you want fuckface who's name i do not remember and i do not care but here you are throwing your shit at us?” The merc gestures to the knives around them by nodding his head towards them. Peter snorts.

 

“You know the purpose of this very well. Don’t deny it.” A man says as he jumps down from the low roof, a few others following.

 

Deadpool springs up instantaneously, shoving Spider-Man behind him. “Ah, so it is a squad! Look at that Spidey, its a knife squad!”

 

Spider-Man steps in front to stand next to the merc. “ I think thats what you call ninjas, Deadpool.” the younger places his hands on his hips in a sassy position.

 

“Oooh, ninjas! Even better, now all of us look like we’re about to walk straight into a comic con or something. Sick ninja gear by the way—guy who’s name i forgot but imma call you douchey mcdouche.”

 

“Careful Wade, douchey mcdouche has knives.” Peter says, chuckling a little at the mans annoyed expression.

 

“I can see why you like to keep him around. But you also know what anyone will pay for him.” The man says casually, spinning one of his knives on his finger. “Take him out Wilson, or we will.”

 

Wade looks relaxed, a bit too relaxed. Spider-Man crosses his arms. 

 

“I’m literally right here. Seriously, does everyone who wants me dead like to talk about me like I'm not there?”

 

“S’okay Spidey. These bitches don’t want you dead, they just wanna sell ya.”

 

Peter gives Wade an incredulous look under his mask. “Sell me?”

 

Wade shrugs, waving his hand around, each of the armed men’s eyes following his movements.  “These hoes jus want that money, Baby boy. Don’tcha douche? Why Spidey though? He’s too pure, and he’s got crap social skills anyway. Too many lame puns, you’ll end up shooting him in the head.”

 

“Hey!”

 

Deadpool steps forward into ninja dudes personal space, eye to eye with the man, pointing a finger at his chest. “You can fuck off douchey mc douche. Webs don’t belong to none of you.” Insidiously, he leans in closer, now talking under his breath. “You already know I'm assigned with a different job.”

Peter raises a brow. The man stands his ground, looking at Wade straight in the eye.

 

“You’ve changed, Wilson.”

 

Theres a brief silence, everyone is still, and Peter’s spider-sense screams, alerting him of the oncoming attack of unexpected knives.

 

The vigilante panics, leaping a few feet above the group into the air, dodging the knives aimed at him just in time.

 

“You always bring knives to a fist fight?” he quips as he twists in the air— a move that he’d been working on with Matt— lands, shoving Wade out of the way with his feet. He springs up into a stance, keeping his arms at ready and his feet light on the ground. Matt’d approve. 

 

“Fist fight?” The man asked, not moved from where he was stood, seeming unworried. “What makes you think this is a fist—“

 

Spider-Man takes his confusion as a quick chance to punch him squarely in the jaw. He smirks. “Well, its whatever you let it be.”

 

The man stumbles, he seems shocked, it must not happen to him often. Wade is beaming. “OhoHO! He got you!”

 

The group of ninjas—well, mercs dressed as ninjas or something— aim their knives again at their leaders command. Spider-Man bends at an angle that has knives whizzing past him but none actually stabbing him. He jerks back up, aiming his web shooters at the source.

 

“I don’t like getting my suit ripped, douche mc douche.” He says, webbing a few of the mercs who manage to immediately cut through the webs. Wade has unsheathed his katanas, and is busying himself with a few off them, being careful not to slice someones head off, not in front of Spidey.

 

 “Maybe you should’ve thought about that before making a swimsuit your costume, Spider-Man.” The man says cooly, reaching at his sides to pull out his own katanas and trapping Peter into a corner.

 

“IT’S SPANDEX YOU SHIT STICK!” Deadpool yells before falling in from behind him and almost slicing the mans arm off.

 

The two men clash with each other, and Spider-Man manages to flip over them and deal with the rest of the ninjas, webbing their hands and feet to the wall so they couldn’t reach their weapons.

 

He turns around and ducks just before a blade passes through where he was previously stood. Peter gasps, feeling immensely unprotected and rolling out of the way.

 

He decides to take this from a better angle, as he webs himself to a window and sticks to it. He aims his web shooter at the mans katanas and manages to pull one out of his hold. However the man catches on to his attempt and ducks a few of Wades swipes before grabbing onto it and pulling down, hard.

 

Entirely not expecting that, Peter gets pulled down with it. The man grabs onto him and throws him against the wall, pinning him into a chokehold singlehandedly. Peter kicks, trying to fend him off but the man also has a blade pressed to his stomach.

 

Deadpool pulls out a gun on instinct, pressing to the side of mans forehead. “Let go.” He says, his voice taking on a much more dangerous tone than his usual self.

 

The man seems unbothered by the possibility that his brains could get blown out, and just presses his palm into the vigilantes throat harder. Peter splutters, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

 

“This is what you’re protecting?” The man scoffs. “Come on Wilson, just let me take him.”

 

“Yeah? So why’re you after him?”

 

“You know how much they’ll pay. And if i don’t, another one of us will. Get over this scrawny vigilante.”

 

Wade has his finger on the trigger. “I’ll fucking shoot you. You know that i will.”

 

 "Don’t—“ The younger chokes.

 

“Oh i know you will.” The man presses harder, the blade also digging a little into Peter’s stomach. “But the little one here won’t approve of that, would he?”

 

Deadpool’s stare hardens, his jaw clenches. Peter’s vision starts to blur. 

 

“Don’t test me, man.” He digs the gun into the guys forehead harder.

 

“-don’t shoot—Wade don’t shoot!” Spider-Man manages, lifting his arms up and hitting the mans arm down hard, causing him to loosen his hold for a brief second. Peter is too lightheaded to make use of that second as the man threatens him with his blade.

 

Wade is just about done with this shit by now. He sighs loudly and cocks his gun sideways, pulling the trigger. 

 

The man lets out a bark of profanity before releasing Spider-Man, who falls to the ground coughing and wheezing.

 

“W-Wade—“

 

“Shot him in the shoulder, he’ll live. Unfortunately.” Wade says as he punches the man, effectively knocking him out. His voice suddenly softens. “You okay sweettums? He definitely took the breath outta you.” He crouches down.

 

Peter leans his head against the wall, his mask half lifted over his nose in order to breath. “I’ll live.” He smiles, mouth open and showing his teeth.

 

“Very fortunately!” Deadpool exclaims, pulling the younger up with a hand. Peter chokes out a laugh, pulling his mask down.

 

Deadpool walks towards the other wall in contemplation, inspecting the few knives that were still embedded into it next to the few ninjas that were still webbed and struggling against the wall.

 

“What are you doing?” Peter asks, walking behind him.

 

Wade plucks one of the knives out of the wall. He waves it in front of the vigilante. “This look familiar to you?”

 

Peter takes the knife and inspects it. He makes a sound of uncertainty. “Maybe? I dunno.”

 

Wade hums. 

 

Peter flips the knife over, notching an engraving on it which he couldn't quite make out. “You said you knew the guy?” He says, squinting at the knife.

 

“Oh yeah, total dickhead. He uses knives n shit but, i’ve never seen these ones before. They're all the same. Same markings and everything. Almost like someone was providing him with them.”

 

Spider-Man feels his phone buzzing in his suit pocket. He freezes but remembers its his burner and takes it out. 

 

“Shit, Baby Boy, where did you pull that out from? You have pockets in your suit?”

 

Spider-Man chuckles in response and flips open his phone. There are five missed calls, all from Daredevil’s number. The younger blanches.

 

“Yeah—um, Wade, Listen—I’ve got a thing—“

 

The merc slumps his shoulders. “Aw man. And we were just starting to have fun.”

 

Spider-Man rubs his arm subconsciously. “I could stay but—“

 

Deadpool smiles and shakes his head, "Nah it's cool babycakes. I’ve got some shit to do as well. Go do your thing.”

 

Peter cocks his head to the side, "You sure?" 

 

The older man nods, somehow looking sad.

 

“Alright, see ya then. I’ll see if i can find something on this, and i’ll tell you.” Peter says, holding the knife up.

 

“Hey wait!” Wade grabs his wrist before he would swing away. “Gimme yo numba baby!”

 

Peter laughs. “Really?” He shakes his head. “Yeah i guess that’d be easier than swinging around looking for you."

 

Wade hands him his own phone, and Peter is about to put his personal contact in there when he remembers his burner. He puts that instead, imagining how Matt would’ve flipped shit if he found out Peter has given his personal number to a mercenary.

 

“So, patrol tomorrow?” Wade asked hopefully once Spider-Man handed him his phone back.

 

The younger grins. “Sure.”

 

-

 

 

 

Peter sprints down the sidewalk towards Nelson and Murdock, silently cursing to himself at how late it had gotten. The teen paused and sat down on a set of stairs to pull out his smartphone.

 

**7:56 pm**

**8 Missed calls**

 

Peter groans. Not good.

 

A few people walk past him, staring at him oddly. Peter wonders what he must look like. Probably a homeless teenager judging by his ruffled hair and battered sneakers. Not to mention the fresh bruises covering his cheekbones and throat from where he was almost choked to death. No biggie.

 

His side hurts a lot too. He should probably get that checked.

 

A noise distracts him from his self consciousness and he stands up, tilting his head like an animal would after a disturbance in their surroundings. People give him weirder looks.

 

Peter starts to walk towards the noise, pocketing his phone and letting his senses guide him. He looks around to see if anyone was looking before he scales a building, looking over the other side of it.

 

He squints and there he is, Daredevil in punching the lights out of five men, Spinning and kicking and using all of his well practiced moves but all the same looking like a feral animal fighting for their territory.

 

Peter climbs back, darting down the ally stripping himself once again of his street clothes before swinging down to help Daredevil. He swings downwards and his feet collide with a thugs face, at the same time as he shoots a web to another’s eyes in a fluid movement.

 

Daredevil is panting, breathless, but there is a thrilled expression on his face from all the fighting. He knocks out a thug with a baton and grabs Peter’s arm, pulling him to the side before doing a spin kick onto the last thug, throwing him against the wall where he stayed there.

 

Once all of the thugs were down, the older man tilts his head to Peter, his jaw clenched. 

 

“Where were you? We called so many times. You had us worried.” He says lowly.

 

Peter ducks his head sheepishly. “Sorry, Daredevil. Just, got caught up in something.”

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Spider-Man nods. “I’m fine, totally. You don’t have to be worried.”

 

Daredevil isn’t buying it. Spider-Man does seem physically hurt but his heart rate is fine, excited even. 

 

“Then why didn’t you tell me? I gave you a phone for a reason.”

 

“You gave me a phone so i could call for help, i didn’t need help.” Peter retorts, but then shuts his mouth. He wasn’t intending to be snarky. “I mean—“

 

 “Fair enough kid." Matt smirks lightly, finding amusement in his snark. "Here, i left this one for you.” He gestures towards the thug leaning against the wall, barely conscious.

 

Peter didn’t move. He just stared at him, transfixed. “Huh?”

 

“For you.” the older repeats.

 

“Um…thanks? You didn’t have to?”

 

“Find out what he knows.” Daredevil orders. "We can talk after I take these guys to the station.”

 

“You want me to interrogate him,” Peter said faintly. “Do you really think i can—”

 

“You’re late, and there are things to do.” Daredevil says, patient and firm, “I expect you to find out some things. I know he knows something.”

 

Peter bites his lip. “Got it.” He nods compliantly.

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit of a filler chapter? idk, i was kinda hyped up on coffee and speed wrote this. good thing is the next update should be pretty soon seeing as I'm almost done writing the chapter after this. anyways, enjoy some concerned!Matt because teenagers, man.

Peter swings his right fist out and hits the bag as hard as he could, it swung straight up with the force from his strength, coming straight back to smack the teen right in the face. Matt shakes his head, chuckling.

 

“You're not punching at the right angle, i thought you’d have figured that out by now.” Matt says, catching the tired boy as he falls backwards.

 

“You don’t know that. I threw a really good punch today, hit the dude right in the jaw. This punching bag just hates me.” Peter whines tiredly, throwing a frustrated look up at Matt and not even bothering to stand back up. Instead he just slumped further into the man’s chest.

 

“Oh did you now?” Matt questions, pinching the younger’s sides, causing him to yelp and spring back up. “Show me then.” He grabs onto the ropes of the boxing ring, swinging himself up onto the platform.

 

“But I'm tiiiiired.” He insists.

 

"Get in the ring, Peter.”

 

“Im fine with the punching bag, thanks.”

 

“Are you hurt?”

 

“No, Im just tired.” Peter claims, a bit too quickly.

 

“Then. get. in. here.”

 

Peter looks from the punching bag to his mentor stood expectantly in the boxing ring. Even though sparring sounded like a fun idea, it didn't mean it was a good one. His neck was throbbing, and he could feel the pain pulsating just below his ribs. That and he didn’t want to admit he was in any pain at all because he was stubborn like that.

 

He sighs dejectedly, ducking his head hunching his shoulders, lifting the rope to roll into the ring.

 

“Wow, you really are tired. Is that why you let the thug beaten up against the wall take the upper hand?” Matt murmurs lightly, the corners of his lip twisting up, before grabbing onto his arms and pulling the teen up.

 

“He had a taser you didn’t tell me about!” Peter’s ego decides to show itself in that moment, he immediately attempts to take a swing at the man. “If you’re planning to take it easy on me—“

 

“I’m not about to go easy on you.” he told him seriously, catching his fist with his hand. “Because no one out there is going to take it easy on you.” he swiftly twists Peter around, shoving him forwards, causing him to fall against the ropes on the other side.

 

“Good.” Peter springs backwards, ducking a punch and throwing one. Matt twists around him, shoving him forwards again so that he stumbled into the ropes around the ring. 

 

“You can do better than that, kid. Stop letting yourself get pushed around.”

 

Peter growls, using the ropes to fling himself towards Matt, slamming into him and using his strength to cause him to fall backwards.

 

“Now look who's getting pushed around.” He says cheekily before Matt smirks and throws the younger off of him, who’s body collides with the ropes again.

 

“Apparently it’s still you.” Matt replies in the same tone.

 

Peter huffs in annoyance, clutching the ropes tightly.

 

“Get up.” Matt warns, nearing him. Peter glances sideways quickly before leaping out of the way of a spin kick that would've had him against the other wall. He doesn't know if he should be glad Matt isn’t holding back or worried. 

 

“Fight back, you can’t keep dodging.” the older orders, throwing a punch aimed at his cheekbone. Peter ducks, rolling under the man and kicking him from behind. Matt falls forward but tucks into a roll spinning around and kicking Peter’s legs from under him. The younger falls to the ground where Matt wraps his arm around his neck, pulling him onto a headlock.

 

“Yeah, why not?” Peter says, strained, as he pushes against the ground, flipping them both over and freeing himself. He gets into a low stance, watching his mentors next move.

 

The man moves stealthily towards him. “You can’t stay out of trouble when you've already gone towards it. You either deal with it completely or not at all.”

When Matt had been taught to fight, he was taught to never hold back or hide, he used his anger as a weapon, and he was taught to make his opinions clear in a fight, both as a lawyer and as a vigilante. A habit that had stayed with him into adulthood. 

 

“That sounds weirdly like something a serial killer would say.” Peter tries with a joke, and is rewarded with a chuckle.

 

He throws a punch that is avoided, and the small figure in front of him flips over him again, attempting to attack him from behind.

 

Without turning around, Matt grabs his forearm lightning quick before he could hit him. He swung Peter around, twisting his arm around and against his back, where he held it up with just enough force for it to be painful but not actually hurt him.

 

“Attacking me from behind is the same as you attacking me from the front. My senses give me a 360 degree perspective of everything.” He states lowly.

 

“Ah,” Peter says, clenching his teeth from the shooting pain up his arm where Matt was holding it in place. “Well, it was worth a try.”

 

Peter twists, backing into Matt and elbowing him in the ribs. The older stumbles backwards and he immediately starts throwing punches left and right. Matt managing to block most of them with his arms, and Peter getting a few hits in on his mentor. The two work around the ring swiftly, their movements fluid.

 

The older man stops suddenly, grabbing Peter’s fist once again and holding him back. “Stop.”

 

Peter is breathing heavily, high on adrenaline and jerks his arm out of Matt’s hold, going for his jaw again. Matt grunts and blocks the punch, this time grabbing both of his wrists.

 

“Wha—“

 

“You’re bleeding.”

 

Peter furrows his brows, but follows the mans gaze where his head was tilted. He remembers the pain in his stomach from the blade that was pressed there a few hours ago. He didn’t think it’d actually cut through that much.

 

“Oh,” He says a little too breathy, noticing the growing red stain on his grey t-shirt. “Didn’t notice.” He shrugs. He had used his  webs to bandage the cut before training, but it seemed like all his moving around must’ve torn it.

 

Matt isn’t happy, he’s about to release Peter but quickly realises that his grip on him was pretty much the only thing holding the teen up. He knew he’d been out fighting, clear signs from how battered he was when he arrived, but he didn’t think he was actually hurt bad. The teen had masked it up pretty well, or maybe it was the adrenaline rush.

 

Peter can feel his legs about to give out, tiredness taking over his efforts to mask the pain he was in. He twists his arms out of Matt’s grip but ends up collapsing onto the floor of the ring.

 

“Huh. Okay, maybe i am a little hurt. Like, just a bit.” The teen admits. 

 

“Damn it, Peter.” Matt growls frustrated, but panicky, and steps out of the ring, grabbing his duffle. 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

“You can’t just hide things like this from me.” the lawyer scolds, he sounds exasperated.

 

The gym was dark around them, the only light coming in was the moonlight from small window. Matt had gotten Peter to sit up so he could examine his wounds. The younger, much defeated, had complied and had accepted that he was now on the receiving end of another one of Matt’s stressful lectures on being too reckless.

 

“I just did, didn’t i?”

 

“You shouldn’t.” Matt says as he lifts Peter’s shirt up to clean the wound with a wet towel. “It doesn’t help that you got stabbed, it becomes a problem when you pretend it didn't happen, either.”

  
Peter hunched his shoulders from where he was sat at the edge of the ring as Matt told him off. “I was only a little stabbed. Its better than what it looks like.” He winces at the cold touch of the wet towel on his stomach.

 

“I can’t see what it looks like, i only know what it is.” Matt tells him sharply, emphasising it by dabbing the towel around the wound. Peter clenches his teeth. “Who did this?”

 

“I think he was some sort of a ninja.” The teen says frankly, _no point in lying now._

 

Matt raises a brow. “A ninja.” Peter nods. “Yeah, like a gang of them.”

 

 

They’re silent for a moment as he carefully finishes cleaning the cut, sighing as he realised the kid would need stitches.

 

“Why were you fighting ninjas?” Matt inquires, getting up to wipe some of the blood off of his hands and retrieving a cleaner cloth from his duffle.

 

Peter shrugs. “They attacked us.”

 

“Us?”

 

“Me—I mean me—“ he tries but he knows its a useless attempt. 

 

Peter’s burner buzzes from across the room. The two vigilantes stiffen at the sudden disturbance. Matt gives Peter a look before getting up to retrieve it. The burner stops buzzing and Matt shows the screen to Peter. “Who called you?”

 

Peter squints at the bright screen in the darkness of the gym. It was Wade. Probably asking if he found out some stuff, or just calling to rant about something, knowing him. Peter looks up warily at Matt, who’s lips were formed into a thin line, brows raised expectantly. His unfocused, sightless eyes gave him a non threatening, almost innocent look, but the stoicism in his posture stated otherwise.

 

The phone starts buzzing again, and Peter jumps out of his trance, wincing as his cut stung.

 

“Who is it Peter?” Matt says, shaking the phone in front of him.

 

“Its—“ Peter clears his throat awkwardly. “It’s Deadpool.”

 

Matt opens his mouth to say something, but shuts it again. He grunts, closing the phone and tossing it back into Peter’s bag.

 

“Why is Deadpool calling you?”

 

Peter scrunches up his nose, evading the question. “He’s calling Spider-Man, Matt. Not me.”

 

Matt crouches down again, cautiously wrapping Peter’s cut with the cloth. It’d have to do until they could get back to Matt’s place to stitch it up.

 

“I told you not to trust him.”

 

“You did, that’s why he has the number to my burner. Not my actual phone.” Peter replies honestly.

 

“You were with him today.” Matt says, a half question half statement. “Is he the reason you got stabbed?”

 

“I really hope that question is rhetorical.” Peter says, crossing his arms over his chest. “No, Matt. He actually saved me from being choked to death—“

 

Matt’s eyes widen, almost in bewilderment as he snaps his head around to face him. “You were being what?” 

 

Peter panics and waves his hands around. “Its okay! Im fine! Deadpool shot the ninja guy before—“

 

“He killed him?”

 

“Oh my god.” Peter puts his head in his hands, then snaps his head back up. “Listen—“ He pauses, looking at Matt’s expression, almost as if he was ready to burst with rage.

 

“I was following him around, we ended up patrolling together and then we were really ambushed by a ninja gang. They had a lot of knives and they wanted to take me with them. I only got hurt ‘cause i wasn’t letting him just shoot the guy. He shot him in the shoulder or something. I swear.” His hands are still up in a reassuring gesture.

 

Matt gazes at him doubtfully for a moment before the younger’s heart beat confirmed what he was saying. The lawyer sighs, rubbing his face with his hands before going to sit next to the kid. “Okay, fine. But we’re training you how to get out of a chokehold once you’ve healed.”

 

“I’m fine, already.” Peter ducks his head, subconsciously rubbing his fingers along the bruises that had formed on his neck. 

 

“Yeah, don’t do that. You know you aren’t.”

 

The younger squints at him in the dark. “You’d say it even if your arm was chopped off, and i was only stabbed a bit.”

 

“Thats one thing you shouldn't learn from me then.” Matt says patiently. Then he furrows his brows, bringing casual amusement back into his voice to cover his concern. “You were ‘following him around’.”

 

The boy feels his face redden with embarrassment, waving his hands around again. ”I was just making sure he wasn’t causing any trouble!”

 

Matt’s lips turn up into a light smirk. “Right, of course.”

 

“Hey Matt,” 

 

“What?”

 

“You told me to show you that punch, so—“

 

Peter quickly throws a punch, hitting Matt squarely in the jaw. The older man falls back slightly from the blow. It wasn’t too hard but it was thrown and aimed perfectly enough to baffle him.

 

He’s silent for a moment as Peter bursts out laughing, which then he eventually joins in.

 

“Wow.” Matt chuckles, his eyes still wide, but a grin was spread across his face. “Well done, looks like you have gotten something.”

 

Peter beams at the praise. Matt smirks. “Really, I did not see that coming.”

 

“Was that a blind joke?”

 

“Maybe.”

 

 

-

 

“Peter,” Matt says, his tone slightly disturbed by something he’d sensed. 

They're at his apartment, after establishing the obvious fact that the teen wouldn’t be able to swing home in his condition.

 

“Yah?” Peter yawns tiredly from where he lay on the couch. He bit his lip as he shifted into a more comfortable position on the couch, his newly stitched cut—courtesy of his very exasperated mentor— giving him a shooting pain through his stomach.

 

“Why is there a knife in your bag?” The lawyer asks, albeit a bit too casual, proving how much this kid never failed to baffle him continuously. 

 

“Um,” Peter tilts his head briefly. He cant really see Matt, who was pacing stressfully on the other side of the room and had momentarily paused at this revelation. “Are you using your creepy blind senses to go through my backpack? Without my permission?”

 

“Answer the question.”

 

“Yes, there is a knife in my bag.” 

 

“You didn’t answer the question.”

 

Peter huffs out a breath. “Stole it from a ninja. Well, technically it was embedded into the wall he had thrown it into, but yeah.”

 

Matt puts a hand on his hip and uses the other to pinch the bridge of his nose. “And why did you do that?”

 

“They all had the same markings on them. I dunno, it was kinda suspicious. Just like the guns that were of the exact same type.”Peter says, leaving out the bits about him promising to meet up with Wade about it later.

 

At this, the lawyer’s interest peaks. He unzips the teen’s bag and ruffles through it, pulling out the long knife. He runs his hand across it, furrowing his brows when he cant find anything. Matt walks over to Peter, handing him the knife and stretching his hand out. “Show me.”

 

Peter looks at him confusedly for a second before making an ‘oh’ sound and grabbing Matt’s hand, bringing his fingers over the tiny writing on the knife that was engraved into a corner.

 

“This is a code,” The lawyer says finally. “It was on the guns as well, but it was a different one.”

 

Peter raises his brows. “A code? So like, a factory code?”

 

Matt nods, taking the knife and placing it on a shelf. “Possibly. There may just be multiple factories, but for the same cause.”

Peter cant help but grin a bit at this new information. He and Wade would have something to go on tomorrow then.

 

“Im gonna keep the knife, i might know a few people who can give us something on them.”

 

Peter bit his lip. He’d have to sneak out with the knife soon if he was gonna meet up with Deadpool.

 

“Get some rest, Peter.” Matt says, rubbing at his jaw as he trudges into his room.

 

“Night, Matt.” Peter replies, waiting for the door to shut and the sound of the man collapsing onto his bed before he shot a web at his burner phone across the room.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rebellion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was originally longer, but i had a lot of editing to do at the end, and didn't wanna have you guys wait too long, so here's this lol.

Peter wakes to the sound of shuffling next to him, he cracks an eye open only to close it again from the bright sunlight streaming in from the window.

 

“M-Matt?” He asks tentatively.

 

“Nope! Guess again!” A cheery voice replies, and he hears footsteps near him.

 

Peter rubs the sleep out of his eyes to stare up blearily at the person.

 

“Foggy?”

 

“That is correct! Good to know you haven’t hit your head or anything, Matt didn’t specify when he said you were hurt.”

 

Peter groans as he sits up, lifting his shirt to see that his cut had almost healed. He yawns a little and stretches his arms, eyes half open.

 

“That is a nasty cut, kid. Great way to start the new year. Don’t you ever consider the option of, i dunno, getting some armour?” Foggy says, handing him a glass of water which Peter gingerly takes.

 

“I’ve had worse.” Peter mumbles, then squints up at Foggy, who was trying not to laugh at his bed head. “Where’s Matt?”

 

“Oh wow, I'm really feeling the love. No ‘oh Foggy, I'm so happy to see you’ or ‘thank you for gracing me with your charming presence Foggy’?” The shaggy haired lawyer says, getting a laugh from Peter. He crosses his arms mockingly. “No appreciation these days.”

 

Peter actually giggles at that, and Foggy tells himself that he is totally doing a much better job than Matt. He reaches out to ruffle the teen’s already dishevelled hair, who squawks and bats his hand away, failing as he was still holding the glass of water. 

 

“Dude! You have got to stop doing that.” Peter growls as he runs a hand through his own hair, attempting to bring it to some sort of equilibrium.

 

“Uh huh, no can do.” Foggy grins animatedly.

 

The younger takes a few sips of water before reaching out to place the glass on the coffee table. Foggy places a bag on the table next to it.

 

“Matt’s catching up on some work at the office, he told me what happened. I was going out to get some lunch anyways so i decided to check on you and bring you some. I hope you like burgers. What teenager doesn't love burgers, pfft.”

 

Peter’s face lights up at the mention of food, especially food that wasn’t bought from a street corner by the few bucks he had left in his pocket. He goes to snatch the bag off the table but Foggy swipes it out of his reach before he could get to it. “Ah ah ah! Not so fast kiddo.”

 

Peter can’t help but pout confusedly—give him a break, he was hungry and barely awake.

 

“Me and Karen called you 8 times yesterday! Then Matt tried your burner god knows how many times!”

 

Peter’s pout deepens.

 

Foggy tries to ignore it. “Look, i don’t care about what he said about using your phone to ask for help, but like, it doesn’t hurt to check in, maybe let us know you’re not being stabbed to death? Which, by the look of your cut and the nasty bruises on your neck—Ohmygosh stop giving me that look it’s worse than Matt’s kicked puppy face.”

 

That gives him the green light to pronounce the look even more before Foggy groans and lets him take the bag. Peter grins dopily, digging in at once.

 

“Could you eat that any faster?” The lawyer comments, raising a brow at the hungry teenager. “Im not a doctor or anything but i’d tell you to take it slow, especially after you got stabbed.” He jokes.

 

Peter gives a snort and shakes his head, but pauses to give him a smile and a quiet. “Thanks Foggy.”

 

“Oh ho ho you’re a little bastard you know that? Just get better soon. You should be the one running the errands here.” 

 

“Um, sowy?” Peter says, his mouth full.

 

The man chuckles in reply before grabbing his coat. “I don’t know if it’s my place to say but, i really, really don’t think you should be hanging out with, like, a killer mercenary.” 

 

Peter gives Foggy an honest look. “He isn’t dangerous.” Then he shrugs, chewing on his burger. “Besides, he’s my friend. I can handle him.”

 

“Um,” Foggy grimaces. “Yeah, no, I'm definitely not equipped to deal with this.” Nope, this is where Matt can step in. 

 

Peter snorts again.

 

“Imma go back to the office now before they start missing me. We’re actually getting clients again, can you believe that?” He mutters joyfully, heading for the door as the teen waves. 

 

Foggy pauses once he’s halfway out the door. “By the way, Matt told me to tell you not to go anywhere till he gets back.” He turns around to announce into the apartment.

 

Peter stops consuming his food for a moment, blinking innocently. “Totally.”

 

-

 

 

“Wassup Webs! You bring the weed?”

 

“The—The weed?” Spider-Man questions, letting go of his web and landing onto the pavement lightly.

 

“Did you bring the booty?”

 

“Um,” The vigilante shuffles awkwardly, sliding off the backpack he was wearing. “Last i checked, that was attached to me.”

 

Deadpool starts to laugh uncontrollably, slapping a hand on his knee and everything. “Oh baby boy.” He wipes a fake tear. “You are too precious.”

 

“Um,”

 

“The weed, the booty, the weapon, vegetable cutter, painful dildo—wait thats not ideal but whatever kinky shit you're into— the knife with the markings, whatever you wanna call it?”

 

Peter’s mind instantly clicks. “Oh! Right! Yeah here—“ He reaches into his backpack to pull out the knife they’d taken. _Matt is going to kill me,_ Peter reminds himself. 

 

The spandex-clad merc takes the weapon to continue his inspection on it. “So you said this was a code?”

 

“Uh huh, I'm thinking like a factory code.” Peter replies proudly, zipping his backpack up and leaning in closer to look at the writing.

 

“Damn, how’d you figure that out? This shit is in like some sorta weird ass language, i should know it, i mean, I'm a merc, i speak a lotta languages!”

 

The younger pales, he definitely did not figure this out. Matt did. 

“I—Uhm, i’ve got—-I know, people.”

 

Wade raises an amused brow. “Ooooo Spidey’s being shady!”

 

“I am not!”

 

“Is that why you were whispering over the phone yesterday? Like, super low? Super super suuuuuper—-“

 

“They have sensitive ears okay!” 

 

He didn’t really know how sharp Matt’s senses were, especially over the phone, so he had just gone out on a limb hoping the man was asleep before he’d contacted Wade. 

He snatches the knife from the merc, pointing to a few symbols. “Look, i think there are multiple sources these weapons could be coming from.”

 

“What makes you think that?” Wade asks, crossing his arms.

 

“Well,” He starts, faltering a little. “Because Ma— I, saw symbols just like this on guns. They were all the same.”

 

“Wait, like this one?” Deadpool asks, pulling out a grey pistol from his leg strap. Peter jerks away in surprise. 

 

“Where did you get that?” He almost whispers. The gun is familiar, almost too familiar. Peter remembers being surrounded by these guns on a rooftop with Daredevil.

 

The merc shrugs. “Dunno, maybe i stole it? Maybe i found it? Can’t keep track these days, yesterday i got like two smoke bombs and this really fucking cool—“

 

“Wade,” Peter cuts him off. “Where’d you get it from?”

 

Deadpool looks at him concerned, looking down at his gun again and tilting his head. “You alright there Webs? You look pretty spooked. I know these things give you the jitters but damn, its just a gun.” He waves it around. 

 

“Please, try to remember.” He pleads, backing away and growing increasingly anxious now. Why would Wade have the same gun as the fifteen mercenaries that ambushed him and Matt? It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out but Peter keeps silently denying it, hoping that Matt’s concern for him was actually just not necessary and that everything was fine.

 

Deadpool quickly catches onto the vigilante’s behaviour, and his eyes widen considerably. He immediately pockets the gun and waves his hands around. “Oh no no no no, Spidey it’s not what you think! Oh jeez, Baby Boy, i would never—never! Some dickbag gave it to me, i swear!”

 

Spider-Man’s shoulders are angled upwards, hands in front of him defensively giving him this entire look of skittish, trembly, about to flee any second—

 

“Were you attacked, Webs?” Wade asks, fists clenching. “They had these guns?”

 

“Y-Yeah,” Peter nods. “These guns.”

 

“Oh Jesus.” he takes a second to pause. “Did you think i was gonna—“

 

Spider-Man jumps forwards. “No! I—no, i don’t know.” He stumbles through his words. “It’s been a confusing few weeks.”

 

Wade nods, understanding. He wasn’t exactly thrilled about the current events—he was mostly indifferent— but it had become considerably difficult to know who to trust from his circle of ‘friends’, with all these mercs planning on wiping out heroism.

 

Even though he was considering in helping out for his share of money, just by taking out a useless pawn that may or may not have some relation to the Devil, there was one thing about this that bothered him. The so called fee being paid for Spider-Man.

 

Now Wade wasn’t an idiot. He knew who was running the entire thing—or, started it— it wasn’t a big dude in a fancy suit. But that didn’t matter anymore since the entire thing wasn’t supervised. And if organised crime isn’t organised it gets pretty fucking hard to dismantle it. All it takes is for some loud mouth to spread a rumour that sounds attractive and there you have them, fighting each other to kidnap a harmless vigilante who saves kittens from trees in his spare time.

 

“Alright, Spidey. Here’s what we’re gonna do.” Deadpool announces, taking the knife back.

 

Spider-Man snaps his head up attentively, shrugging on his backpack. “Im listening,”

 

“You’re not gonna like it.”

 

“Oh.”

 

-

 

 

Matt almost throws his cane in frustration the moment he senses the lack of a young heartbeat in his apartment. He actually does throw his cane once he notices the knife he had kept on the shelf was missing as well.

 

The lawyer pulls out his phone, calling Foggy as he slid off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing.

 

“Hey buddy.” His friend’s cheerful voice greets. “We were just together at the office like, half an hour ago. Miss me already?” he jokes, and Matt hears Karen laugh on the other end.

 

“Peter’s gone.” Matt replies stressfully,

 

“What?” The other lawyer exclaims, not sounding as worried. “Are you telling me you lost our only intern?”

 

Matt groans. “I didn’t—I didn’t loose him, he just wasn’t here when i got to my apartment.”

 

“So? I mean, he is a teenager, Matt. That’s normal? Who also, i should mention, has weird ceiling sticking tendencies. Oh yeah! And, he’s also Spider-Man.” Foggy says theatrically, and Matt hears Karen agree in the back, “Peter should be fine, its not like he’s actively seeking for trouble, right?”

 

“Foggy, you don’t understand. The knife he brought yesterday, he’s taken it with him.”

 

Foggy pauses for a second, furrowing his brows. “What’s he gonna do with a knife?”

 

“I don’t know, but every possible scenario comes down with him going towards trouble he’s already in the centre of and—“

 

“Matt, just shut up for a minute.” Foggy says, and he opens his mouth to say something else but exhales instead. “Where do you think he went?”

 

Matt thinks for moment, standing up straighter. “He, uh— I may’ve heard him on the phone with Deadpool last night.”

 

“The mercenary?” Foggy starts. “And you just assumed he wouldn’t run off? No offence buddy, but you suck at this.”

 

“Not helping Foggy.” Matt mutters, putting his phone on speaker as he’s already changing into his Daredevil suit despite it still being light outside.

 

“I don’t encourage you listening into other people conversations like that, but just for the matter at hand, what were they talking about?”

 

“It was…” He clears his throat uncomfortably. “..meaningless chatter mostly, Peter was smart enough to leave out details. But they were discussing the writing on the knife. I think he may be going to investigate it.” Matt shares thoughtfully, pulling on his cowl and picking up his phone.

 

“Please tell me you’re going to look for him.”

 

“Already on it.” Matt says, grabbing his batons. “I’ll tell you when i find him.” He closes his phone and leaves it on the table, walking towards the fire escape to jump out.

 

-

 

“Are you serious Wade?”

 

“Yeah!”

 

“This isn’t gonna work.”

 

“Sure it is! Y’know a little more positivity won’t fucking hurt, Weasel.”

 

“Im positive this isn’t gonna work.”

 

Deadpool groans dramatically, stomping his boots around like a five year old. Weasel blinks boredly, conveying his disapproval as he was leaning against the entrance of the bar. 

 

“I don’t like this idea.” Spider-Man agrees from where he was perched on a window.

 

“Come on, Spidey!” Wade coaxes when the vigilante tilts his head in contemplation. “They won’t suspect a thing! They’ll think i’ve come to hand you over and take us straight back to their secret lair or whatever, and the pill only knocks you out for a few hours which is just enough time for you to wake up and make our epic escape. And then we’ll take them down!”

 

“Yeah but, what if i just pretended to be unconscious?” Peter suggests defensively.

 

“They’ll notice.” Weasel says, not even bothering to look up at the spandex covered vigilante above him.

 

Spider-Man grunts, starting to understand what Matt felt like when posed with such complications. “I can’t believe I’m about to agree to this.”

 

“It’ll work out, Webs! Its the fastest way to find their base. Besides, this isn’t the first time you’ve been unconscious around me.” Deadpool says frankly, assuring the vigilante of the grounds of his plan.

 

“Uh—“

 

“Oh yeah! Don’t think i forgot about the time you fell asleep mid fight with a gang of useless thugs. I had to carry your ass outta there—“

 

“Do i still have to be here?” Weasel asks blandly.

 

The two ignore the disinterested bartender, holding each other’s stare for a moment before Spider-Man huffs and leaps off the window.

 

_‘Im telling you not to trust him, Peter. Especially not now, when there are mercenaries out for us. He happens to be a very skilled one.’_

 

_‘I told you not to trust him.’_

 

Matt’s warnings cross his thoughts, and Peter finds himself averting his gaze momentarily from Deadpool.

 

Peter took Daredevil’s advice seriously, most of the time. Sometimes too seriously. The man always seemed to impress Peter even through the obvious flaws that were present. His opinions mattered a lot to Peter, and he agreed with almost all the things Matt thought.

 

But for some reason, even though Matt didn’t have a significant problem against Wade in general—probably also why he wasn’t actively scouting for Frank Castle after he got out of jail—Peter could still tell he disapproved, and that was the one thing the teen couldn’t find himself to agree with.

 

To be fair, he was going to take a pill. He was going to be unconscious, completely vulnerable in Wade’s arms. The only thing keeping him safe would be the blind trust he had in the mercenary.

 

If Matt were here he’d flip shit.

 

Peter breathes, clenching and unclenching his fists.

 

_Matt ain’t here right now._

 

“I’ll do it.” 

 

Wade fist bumps into the air, grabbing Peter and crushing him into a hug. 

 

“But next time we’re using my ideas. Yours suck.” The teen says, face smushed against his chest.

 

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that and instead confessed your undying love for me.” Deadpool exclaims cheerily, releasing Spider-Man. “Weasel, bring it.”

 

The bartender lazily pushes the door open, walking inside the bar and coming out a few seconds later with a tiny bottle which he tosses at Peter.

 

The teen catches it, observing its contents.

 

“So this’ll keep me out for how long?”

 

“An hour, two hours. Depends on your fancy healing powers.” Weasel says.

 

Wade puts his hands on his hips. “Hey! Mine are fancier than his!” 

 

“His didn’t give him a face that looks like a pizza got photoshopped on it. I think.”

 

“Touché.” The merc squints. “Alright Weasel, you can fuck off now. Spidey, you’re gonna need to down at least three of those.”

 

Peter hesitantly takes three pills out of the bottle, lifting his mask halfway and looking up at Wade. “See you on the flip side?”

 

 

 


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a car chase. hiding out in the enemy's territory. peter's mind is clouded by morals and wade befriends a truck driver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so sorry if you guys feel like this is dragging on a bit, or a lot. oops. I kinda suck at progressing the story, which is why it took me so long to update as i was so unsatisfied with this chapter i kept re-writing it. anyways, tell me what you think!

 

“Fucking fuck fuckity fuck fuck fUCK.” Deadpool roars as he jumps from roof to roof. “FUCK!”

 

 _Creative._ His boxes tell him. 

 

“An appropriate response for the writers shitty scene transitions. I mean really, a little more effort would do us all good.” The merc growls in response, aiming his gun at the truck driver.

 

_Sorry Deadpool, i have the attention span of a chicken._

 

“Whatever, give these guys a summary of the shit that went down.”

 

_You got it._

 

Wade doesn’t know how these guys got the drop on him, but it went from a secretive meeting to a full on car chase, well, except him being without a fast moving vehicle.

 

Instead of taking the merc and his unconscious ‘hostage’ to their destination, a few more guys had showed up way too fast, taking Spidey for their own selves whilst completely outnumbering Deadpool, and said vigilante in his protection.

 

Of course now he wishes their plan had been a tad bit more calculated, as a turn of events like this one was inevitable in a time where people were out for Spidey’s head so they can be credited and rewarded from who the fuck knows.

 

But right now,

 

He had some bad guys to kill. And a Spider-Man to save.

 

The truck is now starting to turn into a lane, and Wade can tell they’ve neared their destination solely by looking at the relieved expression on the skittish truck drivers face.

 

Wade shoots at the guy a few times, once getting him in the arm, causing the truck to slow for just enough time for the merc to land onto it, causing a dent from the force of his fall.

 

He’s about to shoot into the truck but stops himself, remembering that theres one person in there he’s not trying to kill.

 

Wade leans over, grabbing the windshield of the moving truck and uses it to smash the front window. The spandex clad merc slides in not very gracefully, ignoring the glass embedded in various parts of his skin and sits down too casually next to the driver, pressing his gun to the mans forehead. The truck skids to a halt.

 

“You keep your pie hole shut, or your brains are a permanent stain on this vehicle. Got it?”

 

The man nods his head desperately, keeping his eyes ahead and clutching his injured arm tightly.

 

“Good boy.” Wade says dangerously, before breaking into the back of the truck.

 

The sight that greets him is one that almost has him stop in his tracks.

 

There are four men sat around in the back of the truck, laying in the middle is an unconscious Spider-Man, while a fifth person, masked, is knelt down beside him. Spidey has a visible tear in his suit near his torso, the sides around it stained red with blood. It looked like they had tried to—

 

“Were you trying to fucking cut him open?” Deadpool growls viciously, and the sound of his katanas being pulled out and whipped in front of him could be heard.

 

Wade had seen his fair share of douchery, not much really bothered him anymore. But anyone who tried to experiment on others who were just in the slightest bit different—hoo boy.

 

The person on the ground doesn't blink an eye, and though they look beaten up from the rough ride they swiftly pull out a gun and start shooting multiple times at Deadpool.

 

A few bullets whiz past but one or two manage to hit the merc and slow him down momentarily. The four men waste no time in surrounding him, attacking him from all sides. 

 

“Oh its good Spidey’s unconscious. Cuz this is about to get bloody.” The merc says and swipes his swords sideways, spinning around, sending limbs and heads flying off.

 

Once his way is cleared, he sees the masked person lifting Spider-Man and making a run for it. Wade pulls out the knife, aiming it just as the person takes a leap out of the truck. He throws it and the knife stabs the person in the thigh, causing them loosen their grip on Spider-Man. Deadpool jerks forwards and snatches the vigilante out of their hold. The masked person realises they're too injured to attempt to take him back and makes an escape.

 

Wade either couldn't give a collective shit, or was too busy making sure the vigilante in his arms was still breathing.

 

“Come on Webs, come on,” He growls, slapping Peter’s masked face lightly too see if he’d wake up.

 

“Nope, okay, you're still out of it.” Wade announces, even though he knows the vigilante can’t hear him. “Lets get us inside this shit hole like we planned, sugar.”

 

 

-

 

The truck comes to a stop behind the building, and Wade lifts the unconscious hero over his shoulder before quietly stepping out of the truck. 

 

He walks over to the driver who has already accepted his fate, and Wade almost wants to shoot him just to make this quick but he knows that will draw attention. Something which they do not need right now.

 

He takes out the knife again, pointing the edge at the man.

“Sorry bruh, I'm gonna have to un alive you too, cant leave any witnesses and all—“

 

“No no i get it, please, kill me sir.” The driver pleads, stepping out of the vehicle and kneeling in front of the merc. His arm is still bleeding from the bullet embedded in it.

 

The mercenary blinks. “Yeah you just made this weird.”

 

“Just kill me, i’ll do anything—“

 

Wade tilts his head at the pleading driver on the ground, who looks to be in his mid-twenties.

 

“I don’t think this is how its supposed to go, aren’t you supposed to be begging me not to kill you?”

 

“Please, i want to die.”

 

“Woah there,” Wade is intrigued now, he stashes his knife in his pouch. “You…wanna…talk about it?”

 

“Please, the only way out is for me to die!”

 

“Uhhh…And why the fuck is that?”

 

“They’re holding my family hostage, if i don’t do what they ask, they will kill them!”

 

The merc pauses briefly, registering what the driver just said. “So you’re not a mercenary?”

 

The man nods his head frantically. 

 

“Well ya don’t look like one either.” Wade grunts almost amusedly. The person on the ground blinks slowly.

 

“Listen, i know this shitshow in and out, mainly because everybody in here wants me to help ‘em out, take the shots, whatever. Im a fuckin’ merc. And they only hire mercs. And if its not mercs, they keep prisoners to work for ‘em. And they don’t just pick up any pretty boy off the street, they have to had done some real vigilante crap to piss em off—“

 

“I helped Spider-Man out once.” The driver blurts, cringing as he squeezes his eyes shut. “Burning building, i used to be a fireman.”

 

“Wha—-Ohhh.” Deadpool says. He looks at the man on the ground, and he can now see the desperation in his eyes. Most would just shrug it off and think the man was putting up an act. But Wade knew how to read people. And this was an innocent man. 

 

Not that he’d usually give a shit. But having Webs with him changed things.

 

“It’s not just me. They've got at least 50 others locked up in there, against their will.” The man explains, hoping the merc would consider helping out.

 

It was just his luck that this particular mercenary had come here for the purpose of justice, well, sorta. Maybe it was just because he had Spider-Man over his shoulder. Literally.

 

“Alright you whiny little fucker. We’re getting you outta here. Well, until Webs wakes up. Kind of important to our initial plan.”

 

“You’re not gonna kill me?” The man almost sounds disappointed.

 

“Well shit, do you want me to?—-no, wait, don’t answer that. No I'm not.”

 

“You’re really not gonna kill me?”

 

“Oh for fucks sake—“

 

-

 

 

Peter jerks awake at the sound of boots shuffling against the ground and a knife dropping next to where he lay as he flailed. The sound of the object hitting the ground too loud in his over sensitive ears. Squinting around him, he took a few deep breaths and focused, trying to get his bearings.

 

“Whoopsie, dropped ma knife—Spidey! You’re awake!”

 

“Wade." Peter recognises the voice and responds, distraught.

 

Deadpool is instantly crouched above him, placing his hands under the vigilantes arms and lifting his upper body up to lean against the wall. Peter groans little, more from the sudden sounds around him than the pain on his torso.

 

“Oh baby, you were out for hours! Well, three hours to be exact. But don’t worry! I had company!” The merc blabbers cheerfully, probably not the best thing for Peter’s headache. “Hey Johnny boy! C’mere, say hi to Webs. Spidey, meet johnny. He likes death. Well, not death death, but he likes to die. You two’ll get along great!”

 

“W-What?” Peter splutters a little, blinking as his vision starts to clear and he can differentiate the sounds around him. He sees a young person crouched awkwardly in front of him behind Deadpool, looking at him nervously. His arm is wrapped in what looks like to be a flannel shirt, leaving the man in just a plain grey t-shirt. Peter shivers, already feeling the cold air around him.

 

“Hi—Johnny?”

 

Johnny waves, looking at the vigilante with a hopeful expression. “It’s John. Deadpool said you’d help me get out of here. And all the other guys locked up inside.”

 

“I—sure—i guess? Um, where is here, exactly?” Peter bites his lip and looks up at the mercenary. “Are we at the factory?”

 

Deadpool grins, clapping his hands like a seal. “You betcha! Told ya it’d work! And now we even have a tour guide.” He pats the man on the back, who flinches a bit.

 

“Yeah. I know how to sneak you guys into the building so you can do whatever you came here to do. Which i hope is take my bosses down, right Spider-Man?”

 

Peter blinks, his eyes widening shortly. “Right! Lead the way—“ The teen exclaims as he attempts to stand but stops, wincing at the shooting pain up his body. This time Wade flinches.

 

“Spidey—“

 

“Why do i feel like i’ve been hit by a truck?”

 

“If thats what you’re asking, then no, that definitely did not happen.” Wade says, quick.

 

“What happened to me?”

 

“S’ funny really—“

 

Peter looks at him pointedly. _“Deadpool.”_

 

“Oh jeez, how do you do that? You make my name sound like a disappointment. Oh, i am wounded— so much disappointment, from the Spider-Man—ouch—“ Wade stops as Spider-Man holds his stare.

 He squares his shoulders and looks the other way, laughing nervously. Spidey groans, knowing something went wrong.

 

“Things may’ve— not gone exactly according to plan,” Wade starts. Johnny has what seems like a sheepish look on his face.

 

“Uh huh?”

 

“I didn’t think they’d be so many of them— instead of bringing us both here they thought it’d be smart to kidnap you and try to knife you—“

 

“Ah,“

 

“—shit, I'm sorry. Its my fault, Webs. I shouldve—It was a shitty plan, i know—“

 

“Thats debatable, we’re here, aren’t we?“ 

 

“You were vulnerable,” The merc states.  “You trusted me and i fucked it up.”

 

Peter shakes his head.“You didn’t. Plus, its just a little scratch. I’m just glad the plan worked, sort of.”

 

“Webs, you’re bleeding out.” Wade says flatly for effect.

 

Spider-Man blinks, and in a swift movement wraps a web around his cut, where his suit was torn. “See? Fine. Don’t worry about it.”

 

“That’s cute Baby Boy, but it’s not gonna last. I don’t want you fainting on us!”

 

“It’ll last long enough for us to get this done, Wade. There are innocent people in there that need saving.”

 

Deadpool doesn’t seem convinced, and Peter stands up again, ignoring the pain.

 

“If it’s any consolation,” John speaks unsurely. “You did wipe out the escort here. Well, except me. I mean you can if you still want to—“

 

“For the last time, i’m not fucking un aliving you, Johnny!”

 

“You can—“

 

“A bullet in the arm is all you’re gonna get out of me.”

 

“Um, what?” The teen says accusingly, voice rising in pitch. “Ohmygod, You killed them.“

 

“Oh no, i feel a rant coming. Baby Boy, do not start!”

 

“You killed them!”

 

“The fuck else was i gonna do? Tie them up with my little webs? As kinky as that is—” 

 

“You know you’re perfectly capable of incapacitation Wade! And what happened to shooting people in, not—thier—heads?” Peter argues, too angry to react to the way his voice cracked. “Three hours, Wade. Im out for three hours and you manage to kill at least a truck full of people—“

 

“A truck full of mercenaries!” Wade justifies. He’s had this conversation with Spidey one too many times. He just has to make a few pathetic arguments back before things are hunky dory again. Wade hates himself sometimes. The moment their relationship starts to progress he always manages to do something that gets them back to this same argument.  
  
“No, people!”

 

“Sweettums—“

 

“Oh don’t you sweettums me—“

 

“Guys,” A trembly voice interrupts them. “Sorry, i know this conversation must be important and all and its totally not my business but we should get going before the hourly patrol makes its way here.” John says, hands out defensively as he looks around the area they were hid in, panicked.

 

“Hourly patrol? What are these guys, wolves?” Peter questions, already forgetting the pain through his body. John makes a helpless face at him and shrugs.

 

Wade is adamant on justification for his actions, the last thing he wanted was Spidey to start comparing him to these guys. So he keeps his gaze on his friend, making sure he heard loud and clear.

 

“I refuse to let shitbags like that take you from me, let alone try to cut you open like you’re some experiment.” Deadpool snaps, his tone deadly. “So yeah i fucked gutted them. And i enjoyed every second of it.”

 

Peter inhales sharply, slightly on edge at his companions words, firmly ignoring that last bit.

 

 Wade barely showed this side of him around Spider-Man anymore, that Peter had forgotten he wasn’t just a smack-talking, pun making, team up partener—but he was also a living, killing, gun for hire. The merc obviously wasn’t the most self controlled person he met—pretty much the opposite actually— but he would limit himself from killing when he was around Spider-Man, it was his way of showing that there was value in their friendship. 

 

He knew that experimenting against someones will was a touchy subject for the mercenary, which would often cause him too loose that self control. But he did just murder an entire escort. Peter can’t believe his spider-senses aren’t yelling at him by now. Or worse, if Matt ever found out he let that happen on his watch, his spider-sense wouldn’t be the only thing yelling.

 

Though upset with the merc, he decides now is not the time to discuss morals and he grunts bitterly. “Alright.”

 

“Sugar, you’ve been spending way too much time with horny head.” Deadpool comments lightly, also wanting to move on. “Alright johnny boy. Get us into this crap fest.”


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, sorry about the wait. i know I'm dragging this too much. alas, i have no other excuse but my exams. i wrote this chapter quick as i could because the guilt was too much, welp. hopefully updates should be faster soon. :)

 

“So—um. I should tell you that there’s no easy way to go about this,” John states, his voice low.

 

“Obviously,” Spider-Man mutters under his breath, crouching lower onto the ground behind the few crates of weapons stacked around.

 

John was right, there was in fact, a patrol of mercs, all armed with the same weapons. Most of them had guns, the same ones that he had encountered with Matt and the small one that Wade seemed to have aquired. 

 

The three had managed to sidle up near the entrance of the factory, waiting for the group of mercenaries to leave the scene before making a move. 

 

Wade was getting a little impatient. Hiding wasn’t much of his style.

 

“Fuck this, I'm going in,“ He declares, standing up. Peter is quick to grab his arm and yank him back down. “Are you insane? No!”

 

The merc laughs in response, turning to John. “He just asked me if i was insane! Pfft!”

 

“Deadpool please, keep your voice low.” the driver pleads.

 

“I could take these dudes out in three seconds flat, Johnny boy.” He states blatantly, moving to get up again.

 

“Wade, no!” Peter hisses, this time grabbing him and holding him down against the pavement. “We aren’t going in there to destroy everything, we have to save the people first.”

 

“Aw, Spidey,“ He grabs Peter’s wrists and rolls around,  getting the upper hand. “Let loose a little.”

 

“Your friend is right, Deadpool. If we cause a ruckus here, we’d be wasting our energy and the whole area will realise we’re here. That won’t turn out good.”

 

“And just an hour ago you were convincing me to put a bullet in your head.” The merc exclaims, hushed. “Whats your definition of ‘good’?”

 

“Our first priority should be the innocents locked up inside, Wade,” Spider-Man informs him irritably, pushing the merc off with the least force he could to not make any noise.

 

“Pfft, yeah ‘course sugarplum.” Wade waves his hand dismissively, using the other to grab John’s shoulder. The man winces, some blood is seeping through the shirt wrapped around his arm. “We better get through this quickly before you bleed out, you too Webs.” The merc points out. 

 

“We need a plan,” Peter grunts much like Daredevil, a way of concealing the jittery feeling in his stomach. The teen was not looking forward to going in there headfirst without some sort of plan. These guys had guns, and if just fifteen managed to beat the shit out of Spider-Man and Daredevil, then what could an entire factory do? 

 

John gets straight to business.

 

“Well, there’s a long hallway that leads to the main room once you enter, its lined up with guards blocking both doors to it.”

 

“So we’re gonna have to go through it,”

 

“Oh boy, do i love hallway fights,” Wade whispers fondly, already twitching in his hiding place. Peter groans internally, never do a rescue mission with Wade unless you want to get caught. Walking in guns blazing was more his style.

 

“What’s in the main room?” He poses quietly. If there were that many guards protecting it, there must be something important inside. More crates of weapons perhaps? 

 

John bites his lip, shrugging. “I don’t know. Im only allowed in there when i have to deliver papers. It’s a massive room, i think thats where they plan everything. Should be easy for me to go in there as a distraction while you guys find a way to surprise attack.”

 

“Now we’re talking!” Wade claps his hands together, lightly this time.

 

“Unfortunately that’s where you may have to split up, if you want to get things done faster.” The man mutters, making sure to check over the crates to see if the patrol was gone. 

 

It was still there.

 

Spider-Man tilts his head. “What, why?”

 

“The main room leads to two other entrances; the east and west wing. There are three smaller rooms on each side that eventually lead to where they’re keeping the prisoners. Including my family. I’m not even sure which wing they're being kept in.” He explains lowly.

 

“And I'm assuming each of these rooms are packed with mercs?”

 

“Obviously,” John mutters in the same tone Peter had used.

 

“Johnny Boy, you better buy us enough time to get the shit done.” Wade says, now leaning against the crate and boredly cleaning his knives.

 

“You don’t think it’ll work?”

 

“Nah, im just sayin’. Webs over here might need it.”

 

“What, why would i need extra time?”

 

“Baby Boy, you’re practically shaking right now. Calm the fuck down, okay?” The merc pokes him in the chest. Spider-Man stares back at him wordlessly.  

 

“We’ve got each other the first two rooms, we split up, get the fam—squad— homies—whatever outta this shithole safely and meet outside the factory. That sound like a plan?”

 

Peter nods hesitantly. It wasn’t the most tactical plan, seeing as they still didn’t know much about what the shit went on in that building; but under the current circumstances, where there were innocent civilians locked up, they couldn't really do anything else. 

 

The teen considered calling Matt to come and help them out, but his stubborn pride wouldn't allow him that much. Eh, he had Wade. Peter needed to stop doubting the merc so much.

 

“Spider-Man,” John exclaims in a whisper. “The patrols moved on, now’s your chance!”

 

Deadpool immediatley springs up, pulling out his katanas and flipping over the crates, not really giving Peter much time to process John’s instructions.

 

This captures the attention of two guards stood at the entrance; each looking up and scrambling for their guns. Deadpool wastes no time in incaptiating them both on the spot.

 

“That was so unsatisfying,” The mercenary grumbles about them leaving them very much alive. Spider-Man surges in front of him, using his strength to kick the doors open.

 

“No killing,” Spidey reminds before twisting sideways to avoid the oncoming bullets aimed at him from the armed men inside. Yep, there was a long hallway and a large door and the end. 

 

“You fuckers are so lucky i brought Webs along,” Wade says, ducking and swiping someones legs out from under them.

 

Said vigilante flips over a few heads and sticks to the low ceiling, swinging his upper body down forwards and snatching a few armed men up with him. He makes good use of his web fluid to wrap them in a tight cocoon and keep them stuck onto the ceiling. Its terrifyingly spider- like and Deadpool is left staring after taking out the last of them.

 

Peter catches his stare and blinks. “What?”

 

Wade lets out a heavy breath, clearing his throat. “Nothing, Baby Boy.”

 

“It’s a lot less tiring than punching and kicking,”

 

“Oh I'm sure it is,”

 

“What are you thinking?”

 

Wade makes a sound that sounds like a laugh covered up with a cough. “You probably don’t wanna know what I'm thinking, sugar.”

 

Its a few seconds of Peter squinting down at Wade from the ceiling when the teen’s mind catches up, he gapes, eyes widening with a revolted sound following shortly after. “Oh—Ohmygosh you—eugh—Wade!”

 

Wade brings his hands up defensively—a thing which Spidey seemed to do a lot and must’ve rubbed off on him— and waves them around in emphasis. “I said nothing! Now are we gonna move on or what? Im pretty fucking sure the entire building knows we’re fucking up their men.”

 

“You’re disgusting.” Peter drawls out, but theres no bite behind it.  “Im gonna signal to John,” The web-head crawls across the ceiling and shoots a web towards the crates. 

 

John who was still crouched behind them ready for a signal jumps up, looking back and forth before skittering over to the entrance. He looks inside wide-eyed at the people squirming around covered in webs to the ceiling and unconscious on the ground. Deadpool looks roughed up already, though he was already healing.

 

“Uh, so you guys can get through the other rooms right?” He looks between the two uncertainly as he fidgeted with the cloth wrapped around his arm.

 

“You doubting our skills?” Wade asks, hands on his hips.

 

“No—No I just—“

 

“How could you say such things! Especially in front of Spider-Man! Oh, what a disgrace!” He starts to fan himself dramatically. Peter snorts.

 

“John, i promise we’ll get you and your family out of here,” He says sincerely, looking him in the eye. “Now you have to lead the way.”

 

“Johnny Boy, distract, the fuck, outta these goons. Or else— Spidey help me threaten this innocent truck driver.”

 

“You’re on your own there, Wade.” The vigilante chuckles before signalling to John as they got closer to the larger room. The man nods and gestures for the two to stay hidden.

 

Spider-Man gently attaches himself to the wall beside the door, crawling up out of plain sight. Deadpool steps backwards to lean against the opposing wall as John performs some sort of rhythmic knock on the large metal door.

 

The door doesn't budge and Wade impatiently starts to wave his arms around. 

 

‘wait,’ John mouths. Peter shifts a little to try and listen in on the other side of the door.

 

Theres an annoying screech of the door opening and a guard lets a  short man walk through, inspecting John up and down. And barely noticing the chaos left in the hallway behind.

 

“Where the fuck were you kid? You should’ve been back three hours ago.”

 

John says nothing, just ducks his head and continues to fidget.

 

“We almost thought you tried to run away, guess you aren't that stupid. Your mothers would’ve suffered the consequences for that.” The man snorts, and John’s head snaps up.

 

“You didn’t do anything to them did you? Please sir i was just—“

 

“Ain’t nothing gonna be done to them—yet. As long as you don’t be a fucking idiot. What happened to your arm?”

 

John pales for a second and swallows. Peter gives Wade an accusing look, and the merc grunts lowly in response. They stay quiet.

 

“Got shot—on the job.”

 

“Useless you are. And i take it you lost the group on the way didn't you? Shit driver you are. How hard is it to bring a fucking unconscious vigilante back to base? With an entire escort with you?”

 

“Hard,” He mutters under his breath and Peter snorts quietly.

 

“What’d you say?”

 

“Um, nothing, sir. We were attacked and got separated,”

 

The man starts to pry. “Who the hell attacked? The cops? Kindergarteners? Who the fuck would wanna save the web head?”

 

John looks to his left, and Deadpool has a proud smirk spread across his strangely expressive mask. 

 

“Deadpool, sir,” He says despondently.

 

The guard who stood listening blanches for a moment, cursing under his breath. The short man voices his feeling more louder. “Fuck, not that shit-head again. Get inside, you. Wait till everyone else finds out.” He shoves John inside the room.

 

That’s Peters que to crawl inside as quietly as he can before the guard shuts the door. He motions to Wade to stay put. The merc growls at the idea of letting him go in there alone but complies.

 

-

 

 

Peter can hear his heart beating loudly in his chest as the only protection he has against this entire room full off fully armed mercenaries was the fact that they were too stupid to look above them. 

 

The teen swallows down a lump in his throat as he positions himself more comfortably, watching the scene unfold below.

 

John is shoved roughly into the middle of the room, he falls onto his knees from the force and accidentally uses his injured hand to stop the fall. He hisses and clutches his arm tightly.

 

“Gentlemen, we have a problem.” The short man announces. A few mercs make a sound of confusion, while others watch in disinterest.

 

“Yeah, what is it Rob?”

 

“Apart from the bit where this dumb ass kid failed to bring back our escort, let alone Spider-Man?”

 

A few mercs growl in response, eyeing John on the floor. Peter sucks in a nervous breath.

 

“They were attacked on their way back, this idiot got himself shot—“ The short man, Rob, emphasises by hitting John on the back of his head. The driver takes this chance to duck his head and tilt it towards Spider-Man. Peter squints, as John motions to the right with his eyes then looks back up.

 

“—not only does that mean they may know where our base is, or they might even be here right now.”

 

Peter looks to the right, and sees a large table, with several maps laid out on it. The teen lowers himself as much as he can without getting caught to get a better look.

 

“But because of this, Spider-Man will be on high alert. Harder to catch him. And something tells me that this kid brought back a few eyes—“

 

“It was Deadpool!” John yells, playing his part in the distraction when Rob is about to look towards the right. This captures the attention of all the mercs in the room.

 

“What?” One of them says, fists clenching. The mercs look like a mixture of shocked and annoyed, some even worried. 

 

“Deadpool,” John continues, “He attacked us! Shot me in the arm and killed the rest of the escort.”

 

The room was immediately filled with loud voices, the mercenaries no doubtedly bitching about the red clad merc with a mouth.

 

Spider-Man tilts his head at the papers on the table, hanging upside down from a thin strand of web attached to the ceiling.

Because of Johns description before they entered, the teen recognised one of them to be a plan of the factory. Every room was labelled and marked. 

 

Peter observed it just in case. There was the long hallway that he and Wade had just gone through, and the merc was hopefully still stood there waiting. The current room they were in was structured in such a way that if something was happening on one end of the room the other end would barely notice. Probably why John had no idea what this room was for. _This is obviously where they plan their evil mercenary schemes or whatever._ The teen snortes. _This entire operation is a joke._

 

The three rooms on each side of the main room were each labelled ‘weapon room’. Did they really need six rooms for weapons? 

Peter is about to get a better look at the rest of it when he jumps from the loud sound of Rob the guard shushing everyone up. The vigilante shirks away and re attaches himself onto the ceiling in caution.

 

“Why would Wade go against us? Didn’t that asshole accept one of the jobs given out?”

 

Spider-Man’s head snaps up.

 

“Of course he did Chuck, he’s fucking Wade Wilson. But you know how indecisive that fucker can be. He obviously doesn’t want us getting our hands all over the web-head. Job or not.”

 

Peter feels a slight pang of betrayal. He wasn’t sure if it was true or not, since most of this shit was running on rumours, but the thought that Wade might've considered taking one of the jobs that this, especially this group were giving out—

 

 _Ugh, you’re getting sidetracked._ The vigilante reminds himself. He could stress about this later. _Its probably not true anyways._

 

Rob crosses his arms. “Theres no doubt that he’s already figured out the location of this place. You know what to do if he’s spotted, correct?” 

 

The mercs agree in unison. One of them, Chuck, still seems unsure.

 

“But if Deadpool attacked them, where is Spider-Man then? I assume he took him with him?”

 

Peter decides that overthinking is not gonna let this move forward, and that he should make a move, _now._

 

“I’m right here boys,” Spider-Man draws out casually, dropping low next to the large metal door. The room is silent once again for a millisecond before several weapons are pulled out.

 

“Oh please, no need for that! I don’t mean to crash your party—actually, i totally do since your escort did try to stab me—“ He plants his feet to the ground, singlehandedly prying the door open using his strength. “Oh yeah, i brought a friend! This would be my plus one.”

 

Peter can feel the large room tense at the second new presence. He can’t help but grin with Wade—who was thankfully still stood ready—and  watch the colour drain out of each and every one of their faces.

 

“I do love making an entrance, oh, you know me so well Spidey.” Wade says, joining in on the younger's theatrics as he reaches for his katanas. “So, are there any snacks? Or will we be making some?”

 


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the fights just getting started

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a quick update!! shorter chapter, but I'm on a roll, so be expected another update very soon!! there was such a nice response to my last update, thanks guys ;p

There isn’t much verbal exchange between Deadpool’s entrance and the  loud roar demanding them to be stopped and captured.

 

Matt would call it stupid, appearing right in that place where the people want you dead/prisoned the most. But Peter also knows that its a stupid thing that the Devil himself would quite possibly consider if it were him.

 

But obviously, that’s not something he’s gonna mention when he hears his burner phone ringing in his pocket. And theres only one person who could be calling him on there apart from the merc with him who was currently busy slashing and swiping his swords.

 

“Great timing,” Peter mutters, ducking a sharp blow to the head and kicking the attacker in the chest, which sends him collapsing backwards where Deadpool swipes at his legs with a katana. Then teen tries not to wince at the blood splattering against the wall.

 

“You gonna get that, sugar?” The merc refers to his ringing phone, before twisting around to block another attack.

 

“Do you really have to use your swords?” 

 

“They are katanas! And fuck yes, since you banned me from guns half an hour ago,”

 

Spider-Man can’t respond because a taller man decides to zero in on him with a large axe. His spider-sense screams at him as he arches his back; narrowly dodging the swipe at him.

 

“Crap,” He says, and his phone stops ringing. Although that doesn’t give him room to breath as another swipe comes straight for his neck. The vigilante squeezes his eyes shut as he drops low to the ground in the nick of time. 

 

He attempts to kick his legs out from under him, but the heavy man merely stumbles. Peter growls, sliding out from under him. The man has a hard expression on his face, and doesn't seem to be doing much other than swinging his axe around.

 

Spider-Man skirts around him, dodging every swipe successfully before flipping over him and kicking him from behind. Peter can’t help but smirk as the large man falls forwards and the teen webs him to the ground. 

 

“Hey, you should be honoured. I tried that move on Daredevil once,” He says in response to the mans profanities and takes a glance at his axe on the ground. “Of course, that didn’t end too good for me,”

 

“Huh, no markings.” Peter mutters as he hears a ‘fuck you’ when he bends down and turns the axe over. “Your own efforts, I appreciate it.”

Before he can make any other comments, a bullet whizzes past his side, making him let go of the weapon and leap into the air, out of reach. He shoots webs mid-air at the three mercs that cornered him, who were carrying the familiar marked guns that Peter had seen.

 

“Oh now you guys are the party poopers,” He uses disappointed voice. “Why can’t you be more like axe-guy?”

 

Peter’s burner decides that is a good time to start ringing again, and the teen is very close to panicking at the rate of change in events. He masks it with a joke about axe body spray to momentarily distract the men before landing a hard kick at one of their faces and webbing another’s eyes.

 

He hears Deadpool cackle at his joke, before the merc grabs one of the attackers into a head lock and starts to repeatedly punch him. Peter jerks sideways at the few bullets that whiz past him before landing a few more punches onto the two others. 

 

He musters up enough confidence to reach for his still ringing phone in the midst of this and flip it open.

 

“Hello?”He says, voice straining as he flips backwards at a random knife being flung at him from who knows where.

 

“Spider-Man, where are you?” Matt says, his voice low and raspy—Daredevil-ing probably.

 

“Oh hey DD,” Peter feigns a casual tone, but obviously the older man knew better. “Im—uh, busy right now.”

 

“We were going to patrol, if you didn’t remember,” Matt says, applying the same tone towards Peter. Making this a very passive aggressive conversation.

 

“Oh yeah ‘course i did, um—“ He ducks a punch. “Something came up thats all,” Dodges a kick.

 

“Right, right, okay,” Matt starts, and he pretends not to hear the five bullets being aimed at Peter. “Do you need anything?”

 

“Nope,” the teen chirps, leaping and twisting out of the way of all five bullets.

 

“Maybe some help?”

 

“Uh,” He jumps over a knife. “No, I'm good,”

 

Peter can hear Matt grunt in annoyance at the fictitiousness of the conversation, and the teen doesn’t feel too good about it either.

 

“Well if you’d tell me where you are—“ He doesn’t hear the rest because that’s when Deadpool yells, ‘Hey is that horn head?’

 

Peter bites his lip when he realises the phone conversation has captured Wade’s attention, who swipes past a few mercs towards Spider-Man.

 

“You are with Deadpool,” Matt says, appalled, but not surprised.

 

“Erm, yeah he’s, uh—here,” Peter mutters, landing a spin kick onto someones torso, barely having time to land before he has to duck another few bullets. “Listen i’ll call you later—“

 

It’s too late because Wade has somehow appeared right next to him to pluck the phone right out of his hand. The merc puts one hand on his hip and the phone to his ear as if he wasn’t being attacked by a room of mercs just as skilled as himself.

 

“Wassup DD! How’s it ringing?” He says before bursting out in laughter at his own joke. “Get it? Cuz you’re on the phone, and you been ringin’ up Spidey a lot. What’s up with that huh? Am i not worthy of your spontaneous phone calls during very important missions?”

 

“I would’ve said, ‘how’s it swinging’.” Spider-Man comments and webs two mercs heading straight for them to the ground. 

 

“Deadpool,” Daredevil says.

 

“Daredevil,” Deadpool says, mocking the low voice. “I’d say i miss you, but then i’d be lying.”

 

“You’re lying.”

 

“Oh you charmer, you,” Wade chuckles, putting the phone between his shoulder and head as he pulls out his second katana towards a merc who happened to be a bit more difficult. 

 

Peter narrows his eyes at the exchange. “Wade,”

 

“Too bad you’re missing out, we got it all here, horn head!” Wade is using his left hand to hold the phone and the other to swing around his katana. “Big ol’ mercs, knives, guns, prisoners, more guns—“

 

“What are you two doing?” Daredevil voices impatiently. “You better not have dragged Spider-Man into anything—“

 

“Whoa there, mother-hen! Jealous much?” Wade exclaims, stabbing someone in the arm. “I didn’t drag Spidey into anything, ain’t that right sweettums?”

 

“Uh huh,” Peter can feel his ears redden under the mask as he desperately tries to reach for his phone whilst fending off oncoming attacks. He eventually shoots a web at it, snatching right out of Wade’s grip.

 

“Peter Benjamin Parker,” Matt hisses under his breath, once the teen has his phone to his own ear again.

 

“Yes,” the teen projects every bit of innocence that can be added to his voice. _Did he really just pull the full name card?_

 

“Where, the hell, are, you.”

 

“Definitely not in Hell’s Kitchen that’s for sure—wait—“ Spider-Man leaps over a merc. “Wade are we in Hell’s Kitchen?”

 

“Fuck no,” Wade scoffs, not even bothering to look where he was swinging his swords. “You don’t know how far i had to run to get here after you were—“

 

Spider-Man cuts him off before he could utter anything else. “Yeah—I’m in ‘not Hell’s Kitchen’, DD. So like, you can just—stay there—“

 

He’s starting to get out of breath from all the fighting, if Peter was counting, it would’ve been roughly twenty people that he’d beaten and webbed to the ground.

 

Peter can feel the shooting pain through his torso again from the cut he’d gotten earlier while unconscious, he peers down to see the webbing has dissolved and theres a significant amount of blood staining his suit.

 

Thats when his spider-sense alerts him but he’s too slow to move out of the way of a sudden blow to his head.

 

Theres a thud as teen falls to the ground, his phone skittering across the floor a few feet away from him. He doesn’t hear it, because of the wave of pain that pounds through his skull.

 

“Spider-Man?” Daredevils voice calls from it. Peter blinks, letting out a low groan and shoots a web at the phone.

 

_C’mon, keep it together Parker, he says to himself._

 

He pulls himself together before the second blow can land on him, wrapping his cut with new webs and getting up to kick the attacker in the face.

 

“Spider-Man!” The voice is more urgent. “Are you okay—Peter!”

 

“M’fine—“ He starts, leaning against the wall with the phone to his ear.

 

“Peter I’m coming to get you—Where are you—“

 

The vigilante closes the phone. _Thats enough of that._

 

Spider-Man scans the room, tables have been flipped over, several lightbulbs have also been broken due to the flying bullets. The floor has blood smeared and broken glass from the lights decorated all over it.

 

It’s darker due to the lights being broken, and he can make out Wade fighting the last group of mercs. He can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for John to work here.

 

 _John_.

 

The vigilante panics, looking back and forth for a sign of the young truck driver. He attaches himself to the wall, manoeuvring past the few men he webbed there and hangs from the ceiling to get a better view of the area.

 

Theres no sign of him in the large room, and Peter’s mouth goes dry from the feeling of dread.

 

“John!” He calls out.

 


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took longer than i'd expected, but oh well.

Spider-Man drops to the ground again, ignoring the shoots of pain up his legs where he didn't angle himself for the fall. He scans the room once before coming to a conclusion.

 

All the mercenaries are either webbed to the walls, unconscious on the floor, or webbed to the ground.

 

He can’t find John anywhere.

 

Rob, the short man, is missing.

 

Peter puts two and two together and rushes to Wade’s side, hands fluttering. “Wade—Wade! We have a problem—”

 

Deadpool has two mercs pinned to the ground at the same time, his suit is ripped and bits of scarred skin can be seen through it. His left ear has been torn in half and is regrowing. Peter is too alarmed to notice.

 

“A little busy here Baby Boy,” The red clad merc growls, punching one of them in the face and elbowing the other.

 

Peter makes makes an agitated sound and shoots several webs both mercs, following with a kick to another one who regained consciousness and tried to escape.

 

“Damn, whats got you worked up?” The older man asks, standing up and sheathing his katanas. “Agh, i feel fucked. And not in the good way.”

 

“John’s gone.” Peter splutters. “We have to go, we have to find him—“

 

Deadpool stops, masked eyes boring into Spider-Man’s. “What?”

 

“The short— the short dude, the one at the door—“

 

Wade’s head snaps to the door as he gasps . “Oh, shiiiit.”

 

“Rob—his name was Rob—Wade he took him—“

 

Peter finds two strong hands on his shoulders before he starts to sway. He blinks forcefully before focusing on the blank stare of Deadpool’s mask.

 

“Spidey, baby you’ve gotta breathe okay? Fuck,” The merc shakes him lightly. “I don’t need you fainting on me again,”

 

Peter nods, though it just hurts his head. “Wade, that guy could kill him,”

 

“Not if we get to him first.”

 

-

 

 

“You’re fucking coming with me, kid. I ain’t letting you off the hook for this shit,”

 

“Please—Please i didn’t know they were here sir—“

 

“Thats bullshit!” A loud crack could be heard when the man twists Johns wrist. The driver shrieks in pain and struggles against the mans grip to no avail. “Im gonna teach you a damn lesson, boy,”

 

“Let go of me!”

 

“Your parents raised you to be such a dumbfuck. I mean, what else would you expect from a bunch of fucking lesbians—“ Rob is cut off when he’s smacked in the face with the cold end of a gun. The short man falls backwards only to be lifted up with the collar of his shirt and he finds himself face to face with Deadpool, with the same cold butt of the gun against his forehead.

 

“You wanna repeat that?” The merc poses in a blood curdling tone.

 

John skitters away in shock, stumbling over his own feet right into Spider-Man before collapsing. There are tears streaming down his face as he now cradles his broken wrist in his only good arm. 

 

Peter and Wade had quickly scanned the room once more before running through the hallway they came through to get in. After noticing the smudged lines of blood on the floor, they deduced the driver must have been dragged back outside.

 

It’s pitch black out, much different from when they’d arrived at the factory. This disorients Peter a little.

 

Rob sneers at the merc. “Deadpool, here to defend the little guys eh? Don’t you have better things to do?”

 

“Oh yeah, like putting a fucking right bullet between your eyes.” Wade says without missing a beat.

 

“You’re a goddamned mercenary, just like the rest of us. You would’ve done it by now you piece of shit, you aint foolin’ nobody.”

 

“Can it, Robbie Rotten.” Deadpool growls, pressing the gun into his head harder.  “Wade,” Peter warns.

 

“All this, just for your scrawny ass boyfriend—“

 

“I’m not his—“ Peter starts to mutter.

 

Rob continues to make excuses. “We were just followin’ orders. You already fucking know that, so just take the web-head and let me deal with my fucking factory,”

 

“Let go of the people your holding hostage first, asshole,” Spider-Man growls. 

 

“Who the hell told you—“ Rob eyes the truck driver, who now has one arm slung over Spider-Man’s, while the other is covered in webs like a cast. “Ah, the little snitch.”

 

John has a deadly glare towards the man.

 

“Oh yeah, and i believe you owe ‘the little snitch’ a fucking apology.” Wade says viciously.

 

“Hah, why don’t you suck my—”

 

He’s cut off when Wade knees him in the groin. Rob doubles over, groaning. “I ain’t doin’ shit, Deadpool.”

 

“Im going to fucking shoot you,”“

 

The man scoffs. “Nah, you won’t. You see, i run things around here. You shoot me, the rest of our mercs are gonna make sure your lives are a living hell. And not to mention the boss,”

 

“Oh i am so done with your shit—“ Wades finger hovers over the trigger.

 

“Deadpool, _no._ ” Spider-Man reminds him. The merc just grunts in place.

 

Rob cackles uncontrollably, it’s a discomforting sound, and John’s eyes are filled with tears of anger. 

 

“So this is what you’ve been reduced to. He’s got you wrapped right around his sticky fingers, Deadpool.” The man snorts, but then his expression changes horrifically fast. “I’m gonna fuck you guys up so bad, you won’t even see it coming,”

 

“Big talk,” Spider-Man says.

 

“Coming from a little midget like you, i find that hard to believe,” Wade adds.

 

Rob diverts his attention towards John now, who has inched closer to them. He’s breathing heavily with anger, nostrils flaring and fist clenched. Spider-Man stands a few feet behind.

 

“Let my parents go.”

 

“Sorry kid, no can do.” Rob tells him, and then grins scarily. “Some of my men have taken a liking to them, oh, and that little sister of yours, what an attractive little thing—“

 

“You didn’t,”

 

“Oh we did,”

 

“What the fuck.” Wade growls, his grip on the mans shirt tightening. “Give me a heads up Spidey so i can blow a hole in this bitch,”

 

Peter is having trouble processing things himself before Wade says that, and he has to snap out of his bewilderedness before shooting a web at his gun and throwing it out of his reach. Deadpool in frustration and punches the man a few times.

 

Rob just continues to cackle. Peter feels sick and Wade is fuming.

 

“Why’re you laughing you turd? these punches not getting through your thick ass skull?” He pauses, contemplating for a moment before aiming for his ribs. Theres a crack sounding of a few broken ribs. The man yowls before falling into pained laughter again.

 

“Because i’ve won,” a wheeze. “None of you have got the balls to shoot me,”

 

John has had it. Neither of the two were going to do it.

 

He knew what he had to do.

 

The truck driver staggers forward, reaching for the gun wedged in Deadpool’s leg strap and pulls it out, gripping the pistol with shaky fingers.

 

Deadpool’s head snaps around and Spidey makes a sound of shock.

 

“John, what are you doing?!”

 

John ignores the shorter vigilante, aiming the pistol at his tormentor while he struggles to stay standing without support.

 

Wade tilts his head. “Johnny boy, you might wanna put that down—“

 

“Shut up!” He snaps aggressively, shooting off key at one of the crates.Theres a loud bang and a hole through one of them. The spandex clad two stand there stunned. 

 

“You hurt my family—you hurt those people—“ He seethes, stumbling closer. Rob blinks, amused. “And i’d do it all again, kid.”

 

John growls, wrapping his finger around the trigger. 

 

“Wade, stop him!” Spider-Man shouts.

 

Wade just watches.

 

“Come on then, shoot me. Or did your mothers raise you to be a pussy like themselves?”

 

Peter thinks he can convince him. He doesn’t think the driver could actually go through with it. “John, he’s just trying to spite you, its not worth it! Come on put the gun dow—“

 

Bang.

 

“No!” Spider-Man shrieks jerking forward too late and shoving himself and John to the ground. He snatches the gun and flings it several feet behind. 

 

John stares forward emotionless, not really responding to the younger hero yelling in his face. His vision is blurring and soon enough he’s being hefted up, one arm slung over the vigilantes shoulder and they’re walking—walking into that building again—no—he doesn’t want to go back in there—but his family— his sister—

 

“You sure you wanna take him with you Spidey? You’re barely holding on yourself—“

 

“I’ll manage, Wade.” Spider-Man snaps. “Besides, I'm not letting him kill anybody else.”

 

Deadpool, although taken aback from the outburst, crosses his arms. “Baby Boy, are you hearing yourself? The dudes hardly even conscious—not to mention hella traumatised— he isn’t gonna unalive anybody else.”

 

Spider-Man doesn’t reply. He doesn't want to. And he doesn’t know what to say either.

 

Though dragging another limp human being along with him, he’s walking in faster than Deadpool, and the mercenary is jogging to catch up with them. 

 

“You know why Johnny did that, Webs. That dickhead did some messed up shit to him—“

 

Peter stops walking. He remains facing forward. “Why didn’t you stop him?”

 

“I—What?”

 

“Wade—-just—“ the younger breathes through his nose. “Take the east wing. Meet me outside in two hours after releasing the people, we’ll get them home then.”

 

“Baby Boy—“

 

“Just, go!” He says, this time tilting his face towards the merc. His voice cracks, and that only increases his frustration about whole mess he was in.

 

Wade looks at him blankly for a moment, his hand is lingering in the air where he was about to reach up to Spidey’s shoulder.

 

“Fuck, okay.” He says, withdrawing said hand. “But if you’re not outside in two hours, I'm gonna come looking for you. Don’t wanna be freezing my ass off while you lay here dead or something. Deal?”

 

“Deal.”

 

They part ways.

 

-

 

Peter needs some medical attention.

 

He knows its bad when he actually admits that to himself.

 

John hides behind a few crates, while the vigilante makes his way through the few guards stood at the metal door.

 

Back and forth. A kick to the left and a jab to the right. He’d basically summarised this routine over the last two rooms he’d been through. Most of these guards worked the same. Probably why they were guards and not mercs.

 

He scans the room, it was mostly empty space, save for the few crates laying here and there. Basically identical to the last two rooms.

 

A headache was developing beneath his temples, he could practically feel the rhythm of blood throbbing through his head.

 

Just a few more guards, he breaths, motivating himself to get through them.

 

He kicks, and punches. Using all of the remaining energy he had left knowing that this should be it. He was done.

 

Then the unexpected happens. Not exactly, but Peter mentally hits himself for not expecting something like this to happen.

 

A group of large, muscled men barge in through the door he was meant to be escaping through. Mercenaries no doubt.

 

Spider-Man mostly ran on stimulus. When he was scared, or excited, his mouth ran in ways that would make Deadpool jealous of his quips. But right now, he doesn’t have the energy to be surprised, or scared. _He is tired._

 

He vaults himself right at them, his fists cutting through the air with force whenever he landed a blow. It felt a lot like a full Daredevil rage mode where he just ran on his instincts and threw punches everywhere.

 

It doesn’t last long as the butt of a gun hits him squarely in the jaw, knocking him off his feet.

 

Silently running on auto-pilot, the teen leaps upwards, his lean frame and heightened senses probably the only things keeping him from getting shot. He twists over the large men bringing him to a landing behind them, where he kicks but its not timed right and he’s snatched into the air. The next second he’s soaring until his back hits the opposite wall. Peter cries in agony. His spider-sense is screaming at him.

 

They’re already in front of him, lifting him with each punch that forced him to remain upright. Then one of them grips his arms in a death grip, he’s held up, and the attacker thrusts several knee shots into the smaller’s ribs.

Pain explodes in Peter’s chest and his ribs snap. His breathing comes laboured and he can barely feel his arms.

 

The men laugh at him. His head hurts and arms are numb but he kicks, he just kicks with all his strength and his attacker falls back. Peter takes this chance to make use of the gadgets attached to his wrists and shoot webs at the mercs.

 

He delivers a useless punch—his arm is numb— ducks another and feels a foot slam into his rib cage. He lands face forward on the ground somehow, coughing. When he looks he sees blood smudged on the floor, through his mask—from his mouth.

 

The small vigilante rolls onto his back, kicking into the air and bringing his body upright with him. He webs the merc who got a hit on him and kicks him against the wall for good measure.

 

Once he’s sure all of them are down, Peter leans weakly against the wall, staining it with the blood seeping through his cuts. The teen uses some web fluid to wrap the bigger cuts up and takes a second to catch his breath.

 

“Spider-Man?” A voice calls tentatively.

 

“Mhm,” Peter replies, to the only other conscious man in the room, who peeks out from behind the crates.

 

“Oh my god,” John says, standing up and stumbling over to the vigilante. The truck driver has managed to regain some strength. “Are you—you’re not okay,”

 

“Forget about me, i’ll manage,” Spider-Man says seriously. “We have to go,” 

 

“You can’t even stand—“

 

He’s cut off when Spider-Man starts coughing again, the teen feels blood pool into his mouth and he lifts his mask to spit it out. “Well, neither could you,”

 

“Spider-Man—“

 

“I’m—I’m fine—“ He falls forward, and John catches him. “We can’t stay here, don’t you want to find your parents?” Peter is mumbling now.

 

“I do,” John replies, still holding the vigilante up. “But you have to let me help you,”

 

“Fine,” he wheezes.

 

Peter pulls his mask down, and allows John to heft his numb arm over his shoulder this time, as they both stumble towards the door.

 


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: hello yes i'd like a vanilla cone pls  
> me: im sorry our ice cream machine is broken  
> you: awh  
> me: but here have this extra long chapter instead  
> you: f yeaaaaaaah
> 
> gosh, im so lame XD
> 
> leave a comment folks!

The next room, which should be the one where the people are being held captive—Peter wishes he’d gotten a better look at the factory plan— is a narrow, but short hallway and the two stumble ahead.

 

They turn the corner, and theres a large metal door, similar to the  other ones that separated each room. However as they walk closer, Peter can hear John whisper a ‘please no’ as he lets the vigilante lean against the wall while he inspects the door.

 

“John,” Peter wheezes, “What’s wrong?”

 

“I don’t suppose you can do that thing with your strength and break the door open can you?”

 

The vigilante blinks, breathes slowly, “I can barely feel my arms,”

 

The other man sighs, running a hand through his blood stained hair. “There’s a specific code that they all type in to get in here,” He points to the small device attached to the door. “Other wise I'm not sure how we’re going to get in,”

 

“A code?” Spider-Man’s physical state doesn’t stop his thinking, “A code. I know a code, well i don’t know it—but—there are codes on all of the weapons. Maybe that one?”

 

John stares at Spider-Man, breathing ragged, his own feet can hardly take his weight at this point.

 

“We can go back—there are crates with weapons right? We can look for the code—“

 

He stops when he can see the mans hopeless expression. Peter sighs, crestfallen. 

 

“There’ll be more guards surrounding the area in no time. What i did—may have alerted the entire building,” John mutters, he’s fidgeting with his arm. “I’m sorry— I— I had to— I don’t deserve to—“

 

“Stop,” Spider-Man says, “Just don’t.”

 

“You—you—don’t understand, i just murdered a human being. Admittedly a messed up one, but a person nonetheless—“ His voice catches, the horror of his actions sinking in. 

 

The vigilante stares at him sadly, pushing away the anger that he was feeling before.

 

“I’m just as bad as these guys, probably worse.” the man mumbles to himself.

 

Peter is having none of it. He stumbles forwards, gritting his teeth as his joints ached. John blinks, hands reaching out incase.

 

“No, you're not, you were brought here against your will,” He informs him. “If you could un-do it, you would, right?”

 

John’s eyes widen as he looks into the slightly reflective bug eyes of Spider-Mans mask. His breath hitches before he nods desperately.

 

“There are things—bad things— that i wish i could’ve un-done too,” Spider-Man tells him, his voice a bit distant. “But they happen anyways. If its not you, it’s someone else. All that matters is what you, yourself think you should do,”

 

The taller man sighs, processing what the vigilante said to him. He looks down, rubbing at his eyes and then snaps his head up again. “Can i at least apologise for—for killing that guy in front of you? I know you don’t like seeing people die, i’m sorry i did that,”

 

Peter squints. “Who told you that?”

 

“Deadpool talks a lot,” John says, as if that explained everything—which it did. “He said you’re sensitive around dead people and guns, he made it sound a bit ridiculous but he didn’t mean it that way, i get it. I don’t enjoy seeing people die either, but i just had to—”

 

“Its okay,” the vigilante interrupts. “I get it too. I just wouldn’t have done it myself.”

 

John offers him a smile, which Peter sort of returns but—mask and all.

 

“Just don’t tell Daredevil i said that,”

 

“You know Daredevil?”

 

“Don’t ask,” Spider-Man snorts, then he turns around, scanning the room. “We have to find a way to get in,”

 

“How?”

 

“Theres always another way in. This is a factory, right? I’m sure it wasn’t built to be a prison, there has to be some kind of a…“ His sentence trails off when he notices a security camera at the left corner of the door. Peter growls and shoot a web at its face—hoping no one behind it was paying attention.

 

He snaps his head around again when John calls him, he's gone back into the narrow hallway and is staring at a wall. Peter makes a sound of confusion and tentatively walks over.

 

He brightens up when he sees an opening to a ventilation system.  

 

“That’s way too narrow. Do you think you can fit in there?”

 

Peter smirks. “Duh,”

 

The teen climbs in, wincing at bit as his back aches. But otherwise fits in easily.

 

“God, you’re tiny.” John says, eliciting a grumpy noise from the vigilante. “I’m not sure if you’ll be able to open the door from the other side,”

 

“I’ve got to try,” Peter insists.

 

John nods. “Good luck.”

 

 

-

 

 

“Ah, crawling, why does it feel so natural?” Peter asks himself as he crawls through the confined area of the vents. “Oh, right. Thats ‘cause I’m Spider-Man,”

 

He’s been crawling for a good five minutes and he can now start to hear sounds coming from below him. The vents are starting to rattle a little and he’s finding a bit hard to breath through his already wheezing chest. 

 

“Hey well, at least I’m not claustrophobic, right? Right? Oh God—“ He stops for a minute, lifting his mask halfway and he breathes, sweat trickling down his face. “Maybe a bit,”

 

He stays there for a minute, and notices a spider dangling down off its web in the corner of his path. “Oh hey,”

 

Peter gets into a sitting position, knees to his chest, and head ducked between them in the constricted space.

 

“Yeah, i know. I should probably be used to this after being shoved into my own locker most of my school life,” He snorts. “Wanna swap places? I could use a little me-time,”

 

The spider continues to dangle off its web.

 

“Rude, can’t even help a bro out,” the vigilante comments, and then groans. “I’m talking to a spider,”

 

As if offended, the spider crawls away. Peter scoffs.

 

The vigilante continues to make his way through the vents, lowly humming to himself to calm his nerves.

 

He finally reaches a point where there is light streaming in from a grilled window. He crawls faster, eager to get out and comes to a stop. Don’t walk in blindly, he tells himself. 

 

He quickly reaches the end of the vent, crawling tentatively to not make any noise that would echo through and alert any threats in the next room.

 

The teen peers down into the room. Its long, but spacious unlike the hallway before. There are several cages lined up and stacked just like the crates were, and he can see actual people sat inside them, as if they were just storage. His fist clenches.

 

He looks around for a threat, and sees a guard stood lazily in the corner. Peter watches him as he plays a game on his phone, yawning. 

 

Spider-Man takes a minute to formulate a plan before carefully removing the grill blocking him from entering. He winces and squeezes his eyes shut from the exertion on his already numb arms and sets the grill aside. He daringly leans forward at the two security cameras he saw ahead of him and shoots a web at each of them, covering the view. 

 

He jerks back into the shadows of the vents when the guard looks up at the noise. A few of the people in the cages are also looking around with interest.

 

Peter waits for him to look back down at his phone again before hesitantly leaning forward again. He catches the eye of a few prisoners who are paying attention and he quickly brings a finger up to his lips, telling them to not make any noise of acknowledgement of his presence.

 

Some stare at him silently in awe as he slowly brings himself down on a single web, his body wrapped around it like a dancer before he lands gracefully onto the floor.

 

Unfortunatley not all of them get the memo as a young girl yells ‘Spider-Man!’ followed by a loud shushing between the people in the cages.

 

Before the guard can look up at the commotion, Peter spots a few conveniently placed crates and slips behind them, heart pounding in his chest.

 

His joints ache at the sudden movement and he’s biting his lip and trying very hard not to whine.

 

He can hear the guards heavy boots walking along the the lined up cages to inspect what was happening. He hears the people panicking in fear and some yelling in anger. None of them give his hiding place away.

 

“What’s goin’ on?” The mans gruff voice demands, as he peers inside the cage which held the girl. 

 

“N-Nothing,” she replies in a small voice. The teen prays the man leaves her alone.

 

The opposite happens instead, and soon enough the girl is being dragged out the cage and hit across her face.

 

“Why're you causing a ruckus huh? Attention seeking bitch,” Smack.

 

Peter wants to defend her, he’s on the verge of tears—no, he’s already crying. He’s so angry.

 

But he knows one wrong move and he’ll be unconscious on the ground. What good’ll that do?

 

The man decides to let her go pretty quickly, locking her back in the cage before continuing to stalk across the room. 

 

He nears the crates and Peter covers his mouth with his hand, trying to stifle the sound of his own wheezing breaths as the footsteps moved closer. The teen slowly exhales through his nose as he watches the heavy boots make one more round before turning a corner.

 

Peter hears the sound of a wooden door being shut and a—very loud—sound of a pant zipper being pulled down. A bathroom break. _Okay then, i’ve got about two minutes to get these people out. Shouldn’t be a problem,_ he says to himself.

 

The vigilante swallows, before leaping over the crates and immediately regretting it. He stumbles and his knees are weak, making him collapse onto the ground. Some people gasp and Peter’s face reddens under the mask.

 

“Spider-Man,” The same girl whispers. Peter turns his head to glance at her, she can’t be much younger than him. He gets up, legs wobbling under him and gets to her cage. She steps backwards, hand covering her mouth. Peter thinks she's scared but her face is showing anything but.

 

“You’re bleeding so much,” The girl says, voice carrying concern. Her small face is bruised around the cheekbones, and arms are covered in scratch marks.

 

Spider-Man shrugs, wincing a bit at the movement.

 

“Are you here to save us?” She asks hopefully. 

 

Before the vigilante can reply someone cuts them off from the cage adjacent to hers. 

 

“Him? We’re in this damn situation because of him.” Its an old man sat on the cage floor on top of hers.

 

There’s a few agreements and hums to follow, and a few protests as well that’s causing a bit of turmoil and Peter has to stop it before the guard hears it.

 

 “I’m trying to get you out of here,” Peter croaks, and he starts to cough again. The old man scoffs. “Useless, he can’t even take care of himself,”

 

“He’s trying his best!” The girl defends him. Peter is now leaning against her cage and trying to unlock it.

 

“If he’d just let these incompetent mercenaries take him, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now little girl!”

 

“It’s not his fault! It’s not like the Avengers are doing anything either—”

 

“Hey—Hey, It’s alright,” Peter interrupts her gently. “What’s your name?”

 

The girl looks at him with wide eyes, surprised at the question. She tucks a strand of her short hair behind her ear and blinks shyly. “Heather,”

 

“Sweet. Okay Heather, I kinda need a trusty sidekick. So you’re gonna be helping me out, y’think i can count on you?” Charm. A little something that Matt could use outside of lawyering. 

 

Heather nods eagerly, stepping forward and wrapping her fingers around the bars.

 

“Do you know where the keys are?” He asks her.

 

She thinks for a second before craning her neck and pointing to a far corner on the left. And sure enough there’s a hook on the wall from which a single key hangs.

 

“I’m assuming that works for all the locks,”

 

Heather shakes her head. “Nope, only the lower cages. Guard dude has the other keys.”

 

“Looks like i won’t be getting out after all. Kid can’t even get the keys,” The old man grumbles.

 

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Peter says as his spider-sense alerts him. He can hear the guard opening the lock of the bathroom. “Keep it down guys,” He whispers before slipping in behind the crates again.

 

There are low whispers through the cages as the guard and his heavy boots re-enter the room. Peter crouches low onto the ground and waits for the guard to turn his back to him.

 

“What’re you all chattering about huh?” The guard asks, glaring into the cages. “Somethin’ i don’t know about?”

 

There is a silence as a response, even the old man stares into space with with fake disinterest. 

 

Spider-Man sticks to the cracked wall behind the crates and climbs up smoothly, despite his trembling legs. He makes his way onto the ceiling and a few eyes can’t help but follow his path.

 

Fortunately the guard notices a bit late and swivels his head around to see what everyone was looking at.

 

“Sorry man, but I'm gonna need those keys of yours,” Spider-Man tells him, making the man jump and look up. The vigilante lets go of the ceiling before the guard can utter a response, swinging down and fluidly kicking him in the head as he fell.

The man tumbles forward, head banging against a cage and Peter scrambles back up to web him to the ground. Peter falls back onto to his knees as the whole ordeal brings a new wave of nausea and his headache flares. His stomach heaves and he lifts his mask halfway to take a few deep breaths. _He has to keep going._

 

“Spider-Man, the keys!” Heather reminds him, a hand sticking out of her cage.

 

Peter nods and crawls over to the webbed guard, he picks up the keys from his belt and shoots another web across the room to get  the other keys from the hook.

 

Heather reaches out when the teen flings it over to her, and she takes it and swiftly unlocks her own cage. She runs over to Spider-Man and helps him up, asking him if he was okay. Peter nods a yes and they both get to work in unlocking all the people.

 

Once everyone is out and reunited with each other, Peter takes a head count to make sure they won’t leave anyone behind. The guard groans on the ground as the old man kicks him in the stomach repeatedly.

 

“Spider-Man, we appreciate you helping us out of those cramped cages but—how do we get out of here?” A person asks him. 

 

Peter bites his lip, turning to look at the large metal door. It looked the same on this side as it did on the side John was waiting for him on.

 

“I don’t suppose any of you know any code, do you?” Peter questions. They shake their heads, shrugging.

 

Heather hasn’t lost her hopeful look. “The electricity goes out sometimes, and then the doors stop working,” She says, helping someone badly hurt lean on a crate before skipping over to Peter. “So they all run on electricity. There’s gotta be a control room or something.”

 

Peter’s mask is still half lifted as he breathes heavily. He gives Heather an encouraging grin. “I could go back through the vents and open the doors then. Not bad, sidekick.”

 

Heather smiles happily, nodding.

 

Peter puts his hands up. “Everyone, stay here. Well—its not like you can go anywhere anyways— I’m going to go back through the vents to get the doors open.”

 

The old man scoffs. “Look, the web-head  is giving up on us already,”

 

Peter shakes his head. “No—no, i’ll come back! I’m going to open the doors from the control room, and we’ll get you guys home. I promise,”

 

“Who’s ‘we’” Someone asks.

 

“Me and Deadpool,” He says. “He’s gone to release the east wing of prisoners, you guys are in the west wing.”

 

“Who’s Deadpool?” Heather inquires.

 

 _He’s a mercenary, but you don’t need to know that,_ Peter says to himself.

 

“Doesn’t matter, he’s gonna help us out.” Spider-Man announces before pulling down his mask. “See you all in a bit—“ He stops, remembering the man waiting outside for him. He should probably ask for his sake.

 

“Hey um--do any of you know a John? He kinda works for these guys,” 

 

Heather, who had sat down on one of the crates perks up. “I knew it! He’d be the one to bring Spider-Man here,” She hops up again sidling over to Peter. “That’s my brother, is he okay?”

 

Peter stares at her with wide eyes, and then gives a light sigh. “He’s waiting for me in the other room, where are your parents?”

 

Heather bites her lip, shrugging.

 

“They must be in the other wing.” Spider-Man mutters. “Hey, i’ll tell John i found you, okay?”

 

The girl puts her hands on her hips. Peter can sense it coming, he grunts.

 

“I’m coming with you,” she says. Yup.

 

Peter blinks, not really wanting to argue. “Its dangerous,” He tries.

 

“I want to see my brother,”

 

The vigilante lets out a strained breath before stepping back. “Ladies first,”

 

She’s significantly shorter than him, so she easily slips in. Peter takes one last look at the people before climbing inside himself.

 

They crawl to the other side.

 

-

 

“I cannot believe you brought my kid sister with you when she could’ve stayed in there, safer with everyone else,”

 

Spider-Man snorts. “Huh, you know its bad when you decide its safer to be locked in a prison room than walk around a vigilante escort.”

 

“More like ‘about to faint’ vigilante escort.”

 

“In my defence, i tried to stop her,”

 

“Can you stop? John, we have to find our parents.” Heather cuts in between the two.

 

John sighs, rubbing his face. “I know, i was just so worried about you. I mean, look what they did to you,” The man says, referring to the cuts along her arm. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

 

Heather shrugs. “Its not like you’re any better, you got shot—“

 

“And his wrist is broken,”

 

“And your wrist is broken— what?” She grabs her brother wrist, who hisses and pulls it away. “Oh my god.”

 

“I am fine Heather,”

 

“I just hope our moms are okay,” 

 

Then turn a corner once they reach the end of a longer hallway, which was placed right above the three rooms that Spider-Man had fought through. John had searched around and noticed a fire exit in one of the rooms that led straight to it.

 

It was probably why there were so many guards stood there, making sure that floor remained empty.

 

“So why’re we taking this route? I thought you said the rooms are empty?” Peter coughs as they enter a narrower hallway.

 

John walks closer to him. “Those rooms lead straight into the main room, this hallway apparently leads us straight to the east wing.”

 

Spider-Man nods, whining a bit as his knees wobbled. “I just wish you knew this before we fought through three rooms of armed men,”

 

“That was inevitable, Spider-Man. They were guarding this place, i mean look,” He points to the plans spread across the walls similar to the ones Peter had seen in the main room. 

 

“What are those maps for?” Heather asks.

 

John shrugs. “They just look like locations of weapon shipments to me,”

 

“So this isn’t the only place with weapons? Seriously? What are they gonna do with so many—“

 

“Weren’t we supposed to be finding the control room?” Heather cuts in again to remind the two, fulfilling her job as a very important sidekick.

 

“Ah, right,” Spider-Man says.

 

They continue to walk in silence, the only sound echoing through the empty hallway were of Spider-Man’s strained breathing and the quiet bickering of the siblings.

 

Peter stops in his tracks when he finds blood. No, not his own, but splattered across the floor, barely hidden amidst a few opened crates. 

 

Heather makes a strangled sound and John is rubbing her arm soothingly and ushers her to keep walking. He casts a questioning glance at Spidey who shrugs, equally confused.

 

They follow the trail through the bloodied hallway until they find the source of said blood. There’s a man slumped, cut open right in the centre of their path.  His sliced up face bleeds red onto the white flooring, and Peter wants to throw up. Heather has squeezed her eyes shut.

 

The worst bit is that the trail of fresh blood doesn’t end there. It keeps going and the three can see it even turn the corner at the end of the current hallway.

 

“Who would do this?” Heather whispers.

 

Peter feels like he knows, because the style this was done in is entirely too familiar.

 

“Well its not like we’re in a building crawling with mercenaries,” John responds with some snark, though he’s trying hard not to start freaking out. “Why would it matter?”

 

Before Peter can respond, large hands grab him from behind, dragging him into a smaller space. The vigilante struggles, ready to yell but the new person is quicker, and a large hand covers his mouth tight as he’s pulled into a tight embrace.

 

Peter screams and thrashes, kicking the person who held him wherever he could reach. It’s a wasted effort because of how utterly disoriented he is because of his weak state. Mostly it just looks like him wailing with his boots kicking air as this taller person just grunts but doesn’t let go.

 

Once the younger’s vision starts to swim and his thrashing reduces, the larger person releases him. Peter quickly rounds on him and finds himself looking up at nothing other than red eyes and red horns.

 

“Fu—Crap, Shit.” He says, because what the hell. “Oh no,”

 

Red eyes and red horns catches on pretty quick because he swiftly grabs Peter again when he’s about to make a run for it and pushes him against the wall, holding him there.

 

“Let go!” Peter shouts, gritting his teeth.

 

“Watch your language, kid,” The low voice snaps at him, indifferent to the younger’s struggling.

 

“Oh,” He grits out. “So we’re back to ‘kid’ now,” He manages a knee to the torso. “That’s nice, Daredevil, how did you even find me?”

 

Daredevil grunts, ignoring the question. “I would punch you so hard right now if you didn’t have three cracked ribs,”

 

“The feelings mutual.” Peter snorts. “Wait, i have three cracked ribs?” He remembers the throbbing pain through his body and groans.

 

“Yes, now what do you think your Aunt who was worried sick would think if i told her what you were up to?” Matt’s fingers clench around Peter’s arm. 

 

“Matt—“

 

“But no, i told her that you were at my place, sleeping.” The older growls lower. “I don’t like lying, Peter.”

 

They freeze— well Spider-Man freezes when the lights of the cramped room Daredevil had pulled him into come on. 

 

The two siblings stand wide-eyed in the doorway, looking between the two vigilantes.

 

“Spider-Man, we were looking for you!” Heather exclaims, and her eyes wander towards the taller suited man who was cornering said hero to the wall. “Is that…Daredevil?”

 

“You weren’t kidding,” John says frankly, referring to their brief mention of the horned vigilante before.

 

Daredevil barely acknowledges the two and he stays facing Spider-Man, as if glaring at him. “You had us all worried,”

 

“I’m okay,” Peter whines lowly, face flushing.

 

“You are most definitely not,” Matt scolds him. “You promised that you would call for help if you needed it, this is the second time you’ve done this,”

 

“I didn’t need—“

 

“Shut up,” Matt snaps, and finally releases him. The taller vigilante turns to face the other two who look like they’ve interrupted something private.

 

“I take it you’ve seen the state of the hallways by now, its obvious a mutual friend has made his way through,” He says, and Peter jerks his head up. So it was Deadpool. They were so gonna have a talk later.

 

“Um…” John starts.

 

“This is the so called control room you’ve been looking for. Im sure you can figure out a way to unlock the doors for the prisoners.”

 

Heather tilts her head at the man. “How do you know we were looking for this place?”

 

Daredevil just grunts and follows John who is already fiddling with the machinery.

 

Peter looks at Heather and shrugs. “He has really good hearing,”

 

“Oh,” She says, walking closer to Spider-Man. “Are you in trouble?” She raises a brow.

 

“Aren’t we all?” Peter jokes, laughing weakly and then swallowing. “Pfft, no,”

 

“Right,” She says, running a hand through her hair.

 

They stand in tense silence for a bit before they can hear a switch being pushed up and a small beeping sound. There are multiple tv screens  throughout the room and they can see a door opening with several people stood behind it. They don’t move, looking around with uncertainty.

 

They were actually waiting for Spider-Man.

 

“Come on, we have to go,” He springs up, ready to head for the door when Daredevil grabs him again.

 

“No, you’re going to get these two some medical attention,” 

 

Peter shirks away and pushes at him stubbornly. “What? DD, we have to help those people out—and I need to meet Wade or—“

 

“No, way.” Matt repeats, looking at him sharply "You’ve done enough for one day. I’ll take it from here,”

 

Peter opens his mouth to protest but Matt cuts him off. “Go straight to Claire’s afterwards, its closer.”

 

“But—“

 

"I've got this.”

 

"But what about Dea—"

 

“Spider-Man," Daredevil speaks firmly. “Take these two with you and  get them to the nearest hospital,”

 

John tries to help. “Daredevil we are fine—“

 

“You’re bleeding out and her cuts are infected. Both of you need to leave, you are probably being searched for right this moment,” 

 

Daredevil’s tone stern and no one wants to argue. However they don’t comply either.

 

“You can’t just send me home like that!” The smaller vigilante tells him.

 

Matt leans forward, challenging him to say anything else. “I’m giving you a job, Spider-Man. You should be grateful thats all I’m doing,”

 

Heather looks directly at the Devil, and starts in a small voice, “Will you find my parents?”

 

The Devil’s expression is blank. “What are their names?”

 

“Marissa and Eve.” She says quietly. “Daredevil, please get them out,”

 

“I’ll do my best,” The man says flatly.

 

With a strained breath, the smaller vigilante grunts and the two follow him out of the place.

 

“Can we trust him?” John asks as they leave,

 

“Of course,”  Peter stops, blinks, “He means well,”

 

He finds their escape route,

 

But not before getting a few pictures of the factory plans from his low quality flip phone.

 

Matt listens to the vigilante crawl down the side of the building, making use of his webs to lower the two onto the ground. He hears his heartbeat slowly fade as he leaves the factory. Only then does the Devil keep moving.

 

-

 

 

Peter thinks he can feel a migraine threatening at the back of his head as he hangs off of a web to get his bearings.

 

The vigilante had dropped the two at the nearest hospital he could find, making sure they were being checked on properly. He initially wanted to stay longer but Heather had convinced him to go after he refused any medical help from the doctors there. 

 

There was a short goodbye and he swung away. Peter didn’t really want to think about it, or how Wade might be looking for him, or what Matt might do if he runs into Wade.

 

His stomach heaves and he throws up a few times on his journey to Hell’s Kitchen. He doesn't want to think about the blood that came out with it as he swings, and staggers from building to building. 

 

“Building on the right, building on the right…” He repeats to himself, running on autopilot as he tries to figure out a way to get to Claire the fastest way before he collapses. Oh boy, she isn’t gonna be happy.

 

He coughs and breath is warm, too warm in the cold air and it saws in and out of his chest painfully. Peter pushes himself back up after tripping over air, his balance way off, not helping him cope as he stumbled here and there.

 

When Peter thinks he’s finally there—and thats relying on his spider-sense— he shoots a web at the familiar window, aiming to swing right in. Turns out the angle was too steep and it caused him to fall lower, limbs flailing as he hit the brick wall and landed on what sounded like wrappers and broken glass.

 

He yells weakly, hoping the nurse would hear him and after a few minutes that felt like an hour, there is trash being moved from around him and a gasp.

 

“Son of a—“ Claire says, and stops, already questioning her life. 

 

“Hi Claire,” Peter blinks, trying to stay awake. He wants to wave but he can’t bring himself to.

 

“When Matt said he'd teach you a few things, i didn't think that this would be one of those things, Peter,"

 

“I’m in the dumpster aren’t I?” He mumbles, groaning.

 

 


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lets get some stuff clear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello!! so happy that I'm finally done with this bit, which means i can progress with the plot a bit more. so expect longer chapters! anyways, this chapter is to finish up with the whole factory fiasco, yay--that was dragging on a bit lol oops. thanks for bearing with me.

 

Pain.

 

Theres so much pain.

 

It felt like a hundreds of tiny needles piercing into his skin.

 

He lay still, breathing in and out and trying to draw his attention elsewhere to lessen the agony of the stitches in his skin and the pain in his joints.

 

Peter was on his back, propped up and surrounded by many cushions, for the purpose of comfort on the rough sofa he was on. His head rested on the arm of the sofa, and he waited a few minutes for his vision to come back before he sensed a burry presence a few feet away from him.

 

He knew who it was.

 

“Where’d you get a tracker from?” The teen says, eyes straining to stay open as his head is tilted towards Matt.

 

“What?” 

 

“You know, the tracker you put on the phone you gave me. That’s how you found me isn’t it? “

 

“I did no such thing,”

 

“Then how else would you have—“

 

“I asked around, narrowed down the area you were in and then sensed you there,” Matt interrupts casually from across the room. “Gadgets aren’t really my style,”

 

“Lame,” Peter snorts, shifting around in his place. He stops when he feels a cool hand on his forehead, and another person leans over him, shining a flashlight into his eyes. He squints up, Claire.

 

“You my friend, have a concussion. Again.” The nurse sighs and pats him on the head lightly. “At the rate at this is going, i wouldn’t be against you actually putting a tracker on him, Matt.”

 

Peter grumbles, wondering if it was too late to get Tony Stark to mentor him instead.

 

“I had it under control,” He says, crossing his arms. “You didn’t have to interfere,”

 

Claire gives Matt a look as the lawyer stands up, walking closer towards the couch. 

 

“Is that so?”

 

Peter stares at him, hoping that his glare would convey his thoughts despite the lawyers obvious lack of sight.

 

“Are you two gonna start a thing?” Claire says, yawning as she packs up her medical supplies. “Cause then I'm gonna need another cup of coffee,”

 

“I was trying to help those people,” Peter informs him. “I had a plan,”

 

“Did that plan include you just disappearing with the knife?”

 

“Come on, you can’t be mad about—“

 

“You deliberately went out of your way to disobey me, after i told you not to—”

 

“Hey, you don’t need to go all mufasa on me now,” Peter waves his hands theatrically. Claire lets out a short laugh, amused at Matt’s expression to the teens pop culture references. The man’s jaw just clenches, as he stands there silently.

 

The nurse helps Peter sit up against a few cushions as she hands him a glass of water. “I don’t know Peter, if Matt hadn’t gotten you out of there, you would’ve collapsed right there and then,”

 

Peter scoffs. “Nah,”

 

“Yes,” Claire says firmly. “You would’ve, and not only put yourself in danger but the people you were trying to save too. It’s not exactly smart to do things like this alone. Took a while for Matt to understand that, although he still insists that he—“

 

“He gets it,” The lawyer grumbles, walking towards her kitchen to help himself to a coffee.

 

“I wasn’t alone!” Peter insists, taking a moment to down the glass of water. ‘take it easy’ he hears the nurse mutter before he hands the glass back to her.

 

“Right, but waltzing in with a world class mercenary didn’t do you much good, did it?” Matt’s voice could be heard across the room.

 

Peter groans. Wade.

 

“You didn’t happen to run into him did you? Matt?”

 

The lawyer pretends to ignore him, shuffling around Claire's kitchen lazily.

 

“I mean, you got all those people outta there right? You must’ve—“

 

“Briefly,”

 

“What?”

 

“Before he got away,”

 

 

_Once Spider-Man had left the scene Daredevil wasted no time in getting to the people on the east wing, no matter how tempting it was for him to see if the plans on the walls were inked enough for him to be able to read through his fingers. He’d ask Peter later._

 

_The people were reluctant at first after noticing the absence of the younger hero, but fortunately a few of the prisoners were from Hell’s Kitchen themselves and immediately recognised the Devil._

 

_Daredevil led them through the narrow corridor as quick as he could. He could hear mercenaries lining up near the doors and he had to get them across fast if he wanted to avoid any run ins. Not that he couldn’t take it, oh hell, he wanted to beat some mercs up, but his first priority at the moment was the crowd of people he was trying to get out of here._

 

_He kicked down the door to one of the rooms and found himself facing five new guards._

 

_“Get out of here!” He hissed to the people as he flung a baton at the handle of the fire escape. The small door swung open and the prisoners ran upstairs, leaving the vigilante to deal with the guards._

 

_Matt roared viciously as he swung his fists, effectively beating down on each guard. He didn’t have to hold back much, these guards were giving back more than he was expecting._

 

_The Devil, as much as he wanted to stick around and question these men, swiftly dropped the last one to the ground and slipped to through the door. He could hear the frightened heartbeats of the people now upstairs._

 

_He took a moment too catch his breath before they started to make their way down the long hallway where the control room was kept discreetly._

 

_Matt came to a halt outside the door to the control room and put a hand out behind him to inform everyone to do so as well. He motioned with the other hand to one of them to follow him inside the room. The people stood there obediently. While not very talkative, Daredevils silent orders seemed to have more effect on people._

 

_The Devil pointed to a tv screen in the room, his finger pointing slightly off key which would’ve been funny if the dude he’d brought in there with him wasn’t so shit scared._

 

_“What about that?” The person said. “Its showing an empty room,”_

 

_This elicited a confused grunt out of the vigilante, head tilting as his gloved hand ran over a few buttons. His hand stopped over a lever. “Is this on?” He asked._

 

_“No, it says off—“_

 

_“The room is empty?”_

 

_“Yeah,” The man didn’t know why he had to confirm this when the screen is right there in front of him, but he didn’t question it._

 

_Matt frowned. That meant someone had gotten the prisoners on the other side out without having to open the door through the control room._

 

_His thoughts were confirmed when the scent of freshly dead bodies invaded his nose as they continued to make their way down. The scent of blood was so strong it was clouding his senses._

 

_This was obviously Deadpool’s doing. He was the only other merc that wanted these guys dead._

 

_They kept walking, the vigilante leading them through the bloody halls before they reached the second exit. He didn’t have to break the door down as it was already wide open, a splatter of blood on the handle as a finishing touch._

 

_Daredevil went through first, telling the people to wait for him to give them a heads up. He stealthily made his way down the stairs, pausing momentarily to analyse the room ahead before he entered. His short moment of focus allowed him to pick up on the  scent of gunpowder and the erratic heartbeat of none other than Wade Wilson._

 

_The merc was blabbering animatedly to the people, Matt couldn’t tell what he was trying to do with his heartbeat being so out of control. So he read the people instead. They seemed relatively calm, distracted by the presence of the masked mercenary._

 

_Daredevil kicked through the door, alerting the several other distorted heartbeats in the room of his presence. Wade spun around on his toes from where he was faced, and brought his hands up to his face in mock-surprise._

 

_Matt could hear a few heartbeats in the room increase in pace, some of them sighed in relief._

 

_“DD! You made it!” The merc skipped towards him and slung an arm around his shoulders. Matt grit his teeth. “So glad you could join the party, even though you’re late as fuuuck—-“ The merc backed away at the low growl the vigilante emitted._

 

_“Anywho—You’re lookin’ good, horny. A bit constipated maybe, but thats just you,” Deadpool grinned, one hand on his hip as he gestured with the other. “You seen Spidey around? Little dude was supposed to be here about an hour ago,”_

 

_Matt ignores him, knowing that attempting a conversation with the merc was only going to make him more infuriated than he already was._

 

_He tilts his head and shouts lowly, letting his group of prisoners it was safe to come down. Well, as safe as it could get with Deadpool in the same room._

 

_The rest of the prisoners come through the entrance Daredevil just came through. The new faces look around the room for a brief second before some of them sprint towards Deadpool’s group of people, reuniting with their families._

 

_“As endearing as that is,” Wade blinked, expressionless. “Who am i kidding, I'm crying real tears—oh dear me—“ He put a hand on his chest, wiped a fake tear from his mask. Matt breathed deeply through his nose. He was going to have to communicate with this loon if he wanted answers._

 

_“Deadpool,” Matt addressed him as he walked closer so he didn’t have to raise his voice. “Breaking into this place wasn’t a smart idea,“_

 

_The merc halted his little show to stare dumbly at the vigilante. “The half a dozen tacos that i ate last night wasn’t a smart idea either, you see me complaining?”_

 

_"How'd you get the doors open?"_

 

_"Gentle persuasion?" The merc shrugs gesturing to his katanas._

 

_Matt grunted, he was getting on his nerves already. “Care to explain the corpses you left behind you? If i don’t recall, you had Spider-Man with you on this mission.”_

 

_“So?”_

 

_“So?” Matt gritted his teeth as he whispered. “So? If this was one of your personal killing sprees, you shouldn’t have dragged him here with you, it had nothing to do with him,”_

 

_“Nothing? It had everything to do with him!” Wade didn’t bother to keep his voice down. “Spidey wanted to save all these people!”_

 

_“Saving these people doesn't give you the right to kill their captors, Deadpool,”_

 

_“Oh stow your righteous crap, hornhead,” Wade hissed viciously. “I don’t need this shit from you. Where’s Spidey?”_

 

_“The moment you two are separated you decide its okay to pull out the guns? How can anyone rely on you? ”_

 

_“Where the fuck is he?”_

 

_“Not here.” Daredevil starts to raise his voice. “But I am, so I’m going to get these people out of here now,”_

 

_“You? Bitch you just got here, I’ve been doing all the shit so far. Tell me where Webs is,”_

 

_Matt launches himself at the merc, holding him against the wall with a forearm. Some of the people skittered backwards in fright at the two costumed men grappling with each other. “You can’t be trusted,” He declared._

 

 _Wade’s_ _heartbeat didn’t break pace. “Watch it, don’t wanna loose one of those horns on your head do you?” He whispered dangerously when he shoved at the vigilante roughly._

 

_Daredevil sensed the merc pulling out a knife and ducked a swipe before it reached him._

 

_Wade used the distraction to kick him hard in the chest, releasing himself and causing the vigilante to double over temporarily._

 

_“Come on Devil-boy,“ Wade waved a hand, leaning back against the wall as he smirked. “It’s been a while, i was starting to miss getting you all frustrated over nothing,”_

 

_Matt growled impatiently and pulled out a baton, focused on Deadpool’s unreadable heartbeat before he whipped it through the air. The merc tilted his head to the side, the baton landed right beside his head and rebounded off the wall._

 

_“Maybe wearing red spandex was a bad idea,” The merc snickered, skipping out of the way of the other baton aimed at him. “Toro! Toro!”_

 

_“Shut up,” Daredevil charged at him, landing a blow to his side._

 

_They clashed back and forth for a while before Deadpool decided this wasn’t going to end until one of them was on the ground—and really, he had no beef with the Devil anyways—and neither was he in the mood to explain himself. He was more concerned about Spidey’s whereabouts._

 

_“Well it was nice catching up with you,” Wade started, blocking a punch and skilfully kicking under Daredevils legs. “But you know, things to do, people to kill—i mean, maim. Whatever lets you sleep at night,”_

 

_Daredevil barely touched the ground before he sprung back up, shoving the merc forwards with his legs. “How do i know you aren’t working for these guys?”_

 

_“‘Cause I'm not. I wouldn’t have sliced them up otherwise,” It was a half lie—maybe even a quarter lie. But he definitely meant no harm towards Spidey or the innocents still with them._

 

_“I find that hard to believe,” Daredevil panted, fists clenched. Deadpool took that chance to pull out a gun and fire it into the air. The vigilante flinched at the loud sound and the merc quickly sprinted away._

 

_Daredevil started to run after him but stopped, realising it would be a useless attempt and not worth it._

 

_“Keep Spider-Man out of this!” he yelled after the merc and only got an obnoxious laugh in return._

 

_-_

 

Peter doesn't really know how to respond to Matt’s summary of what happened, so he busies himself by awkwardly fiddling with the blanket Claire had draped over his shoulders.

 

“Did you at least find that kids parents?” Claire asks, stress coating her tone.

 

Matt nods, head stiff, as if glaring at Peter.

 

“I’m not gonna say ‘i told you so’,” he says.

 

“Matt,” Claire warns.

 

Peter sighs. “There was nothing to tell, Matt,”

 

“This could’ve been avoided, those people didn’t have to die, criminals or not.“

 

“I know,”

 

“Then what did you expect was gonna happen when you let Deadpool go off on his own? You knew—I told you not to trust him,”

 

“There it is,” Claire mutters.

 

“I didn’t think he’d—“

 

“What? You thought he was gonna stick with not killing anyone?” Matts voice gets an octave higher. “He is a killer. That’s what he is, thats all he knows,”

 

“That’s not true!”

 

Matt sighs through his nose, rubbing at his temples stressfully. “Alright, I’m not saying he’s a bad person. Maybe. But what made you think things wouldn’t end this way?”

 

Peter breaks his gaze with the older man and turns it towards his feet, exhaling shakily. “I said, i had it under control.”

 

“Kid,” Matt says, crouching in front of him. “There has been a clear bounty on your head for the past few weeks, if you hadn’t noticed.”

 

“Yeah,”

 

“We promised each other we’d stay close together and figure this out. Not only do you ignore that and continuously try to go off on your own, but you went right over and handed yourself right in the place where you're wanted the most.” The lawyer stands up again, gesturing with his hands for emphasis, “And who did you bring along? A mercenary, who no doubt has history with these people. Give me a reason not to be the least bit concerned, Peter. Because i can’t find one.”

 

A moment of tense silence passes, and the light padding of Claires feet as she paced around her living room being the only noise in the room.

 

“Deadpool is on our side, Matt.” The younger says quieter, eyes pleading. “I know what he is— _does_ , but its not what you think! Those guys were after me, sure, but I thought i could—“

 

“Stop assuming you can handle everything yourself, Peter,” Matt says. “You should’ve called me before,”

 

“ _You_ always work alone,”

 

Matt looks at him sharply. “ _I’m_ not the one bleeding out on Claires couch,”

 

“Right, because thats something you don’t do at all,” The teen deadpans. He’s bitter. He doesn’t know why he’s bitter, or who he’s bitter with.

 

“Peter, i don’t say this lightly,” Matt snaps violently. “You could’ve been killed today,”

 

Maybe he was bitter with himself for disappointing yet another person in his life.

 

“Im gonna go take a walk,” Matt announces, almost slamming the door. But he doesn’t, because its the middle of the night and he didn't want Claire to have to explain anything to her neighbours.

 

“i think thats vigilante talk for ‘im gonna go brood over the city,” The nurse says, coming to sit next to Peter on the couch.

 

The younger sighs loudly, closing his eyes and throwing his head back against the couch in frustration. He winces as he feels a cut being pulled at but he remains staring at the ceiling.

 

Claire looks at him, mirroring her own sigh. She takes a sip of the mug of coffee she was holding with both hands as she brought her feet up on the couch and tucked them under herself.

 

They sit in silence, until Claires breaks it. 

 

“Matt’s pretty impressed with you,” she says simply, taking another sip of her coffee.

 

Peter snaps his head up, trying not to wince at the movement.

“No he’s not,” He replies incredulously. “He’s like, the complete opposite of impressed right now,”

 

Claire hums, a faint smile tugs at her lips. “Sure,”

 

Peter blinks, interested. “What?”

 

The nurse shrugs, twirling her finger around the edges of her mug. “You people are complicated, you hide your emotions, so well,” She puts the mug down on the coffee table in front of her. “But I’m a nurse. I know what it looks like when worry masks your emotions. i see it all the time, everyday. You might see it as anger and disappointment, but all i see is that you’ve impressed the Daredevil, ”

 

The teen stares at her. “I—I don’t—“

 

“Peter, you just woke up. Matt told me what happened, he got pretty roughed up too, and that was _after_ you dealt with most of the goons there. Admittedly you went and did a dumb thing, but he was surprised with how you managed it and held your own until he got there. Don’t be so hard on yourself, thats his job.”

 

“You know i can still hear you two,” A low voice says from the window, a muffled sound that seemed like it was coming from above them.

 

“Matt, go and brood on a different rooftop,” Claire yells. Peter’s ears are red, and he blames it on the concussion. They hear the vigilante grunt in reply.

 

“But what about the—“ Peter fiddles with the blanket. “The Deadpool thing,”

 

“So you’ve befriended a mercenary, no biggie.” She says, sliding her feet back onto the ground. “You don’t immediately judge him by his status, and thats whats good in you, Peter. But please, just listen,” She puts a hand on his shoulder, speaking softly. “There are people that aren't all that bad, but the way they've been brought up, they way things are for them, they end up on the wrong side of the line. Even when they don’t mean it. Which means you should be careful, because no matter what you see, you still can’t trust them until you're completely sure.”

 

“He just wanted to—yeah okay, fine,” the teen says, resigned.

 

“Good, because i can’t believe i just gave you that talk,”


End file.
